


Brotherhood and Friendship from Another Dimension

by Black_OneLove



Category: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Dimension Travel, Dreams and Nightmares, Gem Fusion, Gen, KO feel safe with Steven, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Steven and KO learn to live together, Steven sings for KO, Stevenzilla, Villains
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:22:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27604147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_OneLove/pseuds/Black_OneLove
Summary: Steven knows something is wrong with him, his powers are spiraling out of control and he feels like his actions lately have left a lot to talk about.He can't tell the gems how he feels, they wouldn't understand, so at the last minute he has made a big decision that will change his life completely....- A trip? - The gem with a Pearl blinks and exclaims in surprise.- Yes, I have felt very busy and also there are thousands and thousands of places that I want to explore on my own ... -The sixteen-year-old shows them his perfectly detailed plan with a shaky smile.- So what do you think ... Is it okay for me to go? -.Steven did not know that his journey would be cut short by being trapped in another universe, where all the inhabitants have ... Powers and there are heroes and villains?Steven and K.O ... what do they have in common?
Relationships: K.O. (OK K.O.! Let's be Heroes) & Steven Universe
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, I sincerely apologize for my bad spelling and grammar.

It's midnight in Beach City, the silence in the house is overwhelming, Steven is sitting on the edge of the bed still in his usual clothes, the bags under his eyes show how tired he has been lately. Things have gotten out of hand ... his anger, his powers, that strange glow that envelops him when he's upset, the proposition he made to Connie, his yelling at his dad, everything was going wrong.

Things were not good, not good at all, the extra triggers that really marked him were having broken Jasper and trying to break White's gem a few days ago.

He really didn't want to.

When he returned from Homeworld his new physique and that pink glow in him had not disappeared, he immediately went to do something that little Steven did a lot in his childhood, help others to feel better and see that everything was fine.

But he failed miserably.

Instead of helping it only made things worse for everyone.

Inside his mind broken by so much emotional weight, he realized in time that he failed to show that everything was alright with him. Before the gems, Connie and her dad questioned him in the living room of his home when he came back from little Homeworld he ignored them and went to the only place where they wouldn't bother him, to his mom's room.

There he spent a full week. There he couldn't hurt anything or anyone. But he was terribly alone.

He decided to return to the temple when he returned to his normal size. It was night, the gems should be in hers room, so with silent steps in the dark he climbed the stairs to his room and that's where he has been.

He sighs wearily, slowly lifts his black shirt and looks at his gem, a beautiful diamond hidden like a shimmering quartz, but then why does he act like this?

Of course, the answer had been told by Dr. Priyanka a few days ago.

Trauma. 

A normal child would not have wanted to have a childhood like the one he lived, with thousands of dangers, intense moments, emotional and painful situations, revealed secrets, guilt, threats, existential crises and much more.

No one in their right mind. Children with normal lives should consider themselves very lucky.

Steven sighs tiredly and sleepy, brings his hands to his face, he didn't know what to do about it, he feels a little push on his back, with a nervous gasp he looks back and it is his big pink friend. Lion.

Steven lets out a heavy sigh - I guess you can't sleep either, buddy - he strokes her soft, long pink hair.

The Lion allows himself to be caressed and closes his eyes at the gentle touch.

Steve closed his eyes tiredly, he did not like how he has been feeling for months, everything is supposed to go well and enjoy the best moments of his life.

But then why is he not happy?

He needed to find a solution quickly before others noticed his behavior, so far his dad knows something, Connie thinks he's dealing well with rejection, the gems are suspicious too. Fortunately Bismuth, Peridot, and Lapis were too busy with school but they knew something was wrong with him. 

And he wouldn't contact the diamonds after what he tried to do ...

He had done and taken enough damage by now, even the smallest thing was unleashing on his body like a bomb and his body reacting violently.

What could he do?

\- Lion, I need to act now, I can't be like this for the rest of my life, this is killing me, I feel so tired that I don't know what to do ..... Any ideas? -

The giant pink animal rubs its snout against his cheek making the teenager laugh slightly.

\- Thanks friend, but that's not what I need now ... -

Steven sighs heavily, falls back on the bed, Leon sits next to him without looking away.

\- Hey, I still have some sanity, I won't do any more crazy things ...-

Lion blinks at her answer. Obviously he didn't believe him due to everything he's been through, Steven winces.

\- thinks Steven, thinks, I need to get out of this situation ..... get out ... get out ... get out .... That's it !, Leon I already know exactly what I'm going to do! -

Steven quickly gets out of bed, turns on the lamp near his bed, and desperately searches for a notebook, a pencil, and his phone.

\- Lion, I think I have found the solution to my problems! -

The big cat cocks its head without understanding.

\- You'll see Lion, this is what I really need ......-

Steven sits on the bed with the notebook in his hands and begins to write.

. 

The next morning.

\- So that's why I gathered you here very early, so what do you think? - Steven finishes saying with a nervous smile and waiting for the gems to agree.

The gems who had listened to Steven attentively did not know what to say, he had told them in detail that he wanted to take a little vacation outside of Beach City.

The features on Pearl's face showed too much concern.

Amethyst was always supportive of any idea as long as it was fun and wacky, but the fact that Steven was going elsewhere only worried her a little.

Garnet was crossed her arms and stoic instead, her face had not expressed any emotion, also because her glasses covered half of her face.

And putting together all the events that have happened lately and their growing anger made them doubt and worry completely.

\- A trip? - Pearl blinks and exclaims in surprise still digesting the information.

\- Yes, I ..... I have felt very busy and also there are thousands and thousands of places that I want to explore on my own ... -

The sixteen-year-old shows them his perfectly detailed plan again with a shaky smile.

\- I don't know ... Garnet, what do you think? -

\- Steven could use a respite from the events that have happened in Beach City lately, if getting out of here is what he needs then he has my support - says Garnet adjusting his glasses.

\- Friend, if you are going to go you should pack a lot of things or even take León with you - says Amethyst sitting on the kitchen counter.

\- So, what do you think? ... -

Pearl staggers a bit as she walks between babbling.

\- I would have to see which of those places are safe for you, and I would also make you a list of essential elements to get out of here, ah, and where will you sleep? What will you eat? And how many changes of clothes would you need? ... -

Garnet puts a hand on his shoulder - it's okay Pearl, Steven has shown that he can take care of himself in any circumstance, if he needs to do this then we have to support him ... -

Pearl looks at Steven again uncertainly, he smiles at her with understanding - If you think it's okay, Pearl, I'd like you to help me pack ... -

Pearl wipes the small tears of concern and smiles slightly - I'll make a list then .... -

Steven was grateful in his mind that the gems did not suspect anything, everything was going perfectly well. Although he was also surprised by how permissive they have been acting with him. In short, very soon he would be leaving his home to find a cure.

. 

All day, Pearl and Steven had packed the bags, Garnet had left the house, and Amethyst had brought a lot of food like donuts, fries, frozen waffles, cookies, pizza, French fries, etc. She wasn't going to let Steven go hungry.

Steven did not exchange many words with the gems, he was trying to distract his mind with the great places he would soon visit.

When he and Pearl finished they put the suitcases near the door, Pearl made sure for the third time that nothing was missing, Amethyst had placed the food in a large backpack.

Everything was ready for Steven to leave early in the morning.

He thanked the two gems for their help, as for Garnet, he wondered where she had gone since he was absent all day.

Steven smiled trying to clear his mind, tomorrow was going to be a great day.

. 

The next day.

It was really early, Steven was checking his itinerary on his cell phone that had a hundred percent battery, he was also wearing headphones in case he needed to listen to music. Pearl and Amethyst had helped him unload his suitcases.

\- I made sure for the last time that you had everything you need for this trip Steven, how long do you plan to be away from Beach City? - Pearl asks with an organizing board in her hand.

\- I was thinking that four months would be fine for me -

Pearl twists her mouth at the answer - it's a long time for a simple vacations ... - the gem whispers slowly, unsure of what the teenager was going to do.

Steven was going to say something but Amethyst cut him off.

\- Come on Pearl!, Steven does not know his own world unlike us, seeing and exploring new places is fun, as long as you take a lot of pictures and bring back memories with you -

Amethyst pulls a new camera out of her hair and hands it to the young adult.

\- woao, thanks Amethyst -

The sound of a horn made her face turn. The van pulled up in front of him, the glass lowered revealing Greg with a big smile.

\- Good morning Schtu-ball, they told me you plan to go on vacation so I thought maybe it would be very useful if you took the van with you -

Steven was very surprised, the truck had not had a good result a few days ago - what? Dad, are you sure? I thought it was in the workshop -

\- I got a lot of help from Bismuth a few days ago - says Greg and Garnet gets out of the passenger seat - the van works great and we prepare it for you -

\- But what about you? Don't you have to use it to go with the boys or where will you sleep? -

\- Greg will occupy your room in the meantime, that means he will stay with us so you have nothing to worry about - says Garnet.

\- Yeah, I can also use the old Dundai, so I'll be fine - Greg gets out of the seat, hands Steven the keys to the truck, and hands him a bulky yellow envelope.

He sighs deeply and makes a face at a silly attempt to smile for help, he really wants to be honest and express what he feels - thank you very much dad ...-

Greg hugged his son glad he was so helpful.

The gems help to load the suitcases to the van, when Steven was about to the doors unexpectedly Lion enters the van.

\- Lion, I appreciate your concern but I'll be fine ...-

The big pink cat looks at him without showing any expression.

\- I don't think he wants to let you go - Amethyst says amused.

\- Come on Lion, I'll be back very soon, you must also take care of Connie -

Steven takes Lion's leg off and tries to get it out of the van but is unsuccessful.

\- Hmm, I think Lion wants to go with you -says Pearl.

\- What? Go on a trip with me? -

\- And why not?, so no one will approach you and no one will bother you, you will be safe with this big man taking care of you - Amethyst says more positive than Steven was with someone she knew - and do not worry about Connie she will understand -

Steven looks at everyone with a grimace, then turns to see Lion who was still in the truck - you ... do you want to join me? -

The teenager runs a hand over Lion's head and the cat pushes his muzzle towards his face, tickling him - I think it's a yes ... Alright, I think it's time to go... -

Steven closes the doors of the van, when he turns to see the gems, they hug him surprisingly.

\- Even if it's a vacation, we're going to miss you a lot - says Pearl.

\- You know, bring a lot of memories, don't talk to strangers and we'll send you lots of postcards - says Amethyst - and don't worry about the school, it's in good hands -

\- And Steven, .... we love you, do not hesitate to call us if you need us - says Garnet.

Steven returns the hug and turns his back on them with small tears that fall - thank you girls ....-

Steven gets into the truck, buckles up, inserts the keys, and feels the engine vibrate kick in. He puts his hands on the wheel and takes one last look at the gems and his father. - I will get back to you as soon as I can -

\- We will wait for your messages - says Pearl taking her own cell phone out of her jewel.

Steven laughs and says goodbye again, Lion appears behind him between the gap in the front seats. The teenager unlocks the parking brake and the van moves slowly across the sand at a normal pace.

Steven sees the gems and his dad say goodbye in the rear view mirror, he looks away ignoring the tears that fall back into his eyes - it's the best for everyone ...-

The van takes the main street and Steven drives until it heads out of Beach City. 

\- Alright, here we go ... -

.

Several hours have passed, Steven has been driving for a while without stopping, he stopped seeing the sea and now there were only hills that became smaller and flatter.

He followed the route marked on his phone, it would take him time to get to a big city, but he wasn't in a hurry because of that, the fact that he was far from Beach City calmed him down a bit.

So far he had driven without any problem. He had all the precautions and was prepared in case something happened to the truck, he had spare tires, a tool box, power cables and an elegant deodorant in the shape of a smiling pineapple with glasses.

This trip promised him a good start.

. 

The night has come fast, Steven stopped at a gas station that was near a forest to fill the tank, then he parked in front of a 24-hour store, opened the doors of the truck and quickly Lion got out.

\- that's friend, stretch your legs -

Leon flexes his limbs like a big cat, the few people who passed fled when they saw him. That confused Steven a bit, have they ever seen a Lion?

Steven pulled out some food from the backpack Amethyst had packed for him. He had many supplies for several days. The teen sits on the edge of the van as Lion walks around looking at the little fast food stores.

\- Do not stay away too much friend, we do not want to cause problems for other people -

Steven eats a cookie and looks at the screen of his cell phone, he would send a short message that everything was fine for now.

At that moment he sees Lion walking towards some bushes.

\- Lion, what are you doing? -

Lion ignores him and keeps looking for what is in the bushes until he returns to him and seems to have something in his mouth.

\- what is that? -

Lion lets go of what he holds with his mouth and drops it on his owner's lap, Steven squints at the light it emits. - It looks like a ball - Steven takes it and examines it more closely, it was small, bright and resplendent.

He had also totally captured Lion's attention.

\- I don't know what this is but it's better that I leave it where you found it ... - Steven doesn't care until Lion immediately swallows the "ball" that had been in his hand.

Steven stares in shock at the pink feline - ¡ah!, Lion spits that out now! - The teenager tries to open Lion's jaw but fails.

He tries to make Lion open his mouth but he can't, several minutes later he gives up and sighs in frustration - argh! I hope that thing doesn't cause indigestion -

Leon licks his right paw calmly. Steven looks on his phone that it's already late so he prepares the back of the van for sleeping.

. 

He parked the van away from anyone's sight, secured the windows and doors, Lion was lying next to him while he had put on his pijamas and now he was resting on a small mattress with a blanket on top and a pillow.

He stroked Lion's head before going to bed - good night friend, sleep well, tomorrow will be a really busy day ... -

.

It seemed like a beautiful day, the sunshine was hitting Steven on his face and the sounds of birds were heard outside.

The young teenager woke up with a big yawn, got up and stretched, touched Lion's head to wake him up - Good morning - Lion makes a big yawn and goes back to sleep. Steven starts packing up his sleeping things and gets dressed.

\- We have a lot of ground to cover, it is better to move at once, so I could avoid the afternoon traffic ... -

Steven opens the doors of the truck and the first thing he sees is the rays of the sun so dazzling that he puts a hand to his face.

\- I think today will be a very sunny day! - He says very optimistic.

\- You can bet that yes friend ...-

Someone answers Steven, he looks to both sides of the street but sees nothing, shrugs his shoulders believing he had imagined it and gets out of the van.

\- although it would also count the probability that it will rain later or snow, I don't know, whichever comes first ... -

Steven is perplexed, someone definitely answered him. He went back to looking for who it had been.

\- I'm up here boy -

Steven looks up and ... it was the sun who had answered him, he had a face and dark glasses.

\- what ?, you never saw someone as dazzling as me? -

Steven was in ... shock, how to explain that the sun had a face and spoke ?, Steven returns his gaze to the ground, looks with more determination at the place, something seemed different besides the fireball in the sky that could speak , everything seemed totally out of place starting with the landscape and the colors and textures.

\- Something strange is happening .... no, maybe it's just my imagination or I'm just dreaming ... there's nothing to worry about ....- he says trying to stay calm.

Steven turns to his right and collides with someone, he falls to the ground.

\- oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you ....¡!¡!¡!-

Steven's mood changed from guilt and forgiveness to unquestionable fear, in front of him was a skeleton with a purple jewel in the center of the ribs, he was wearing a red cape, gloves, boots, metal shoulder pads and the most disturbing thing is that the head landed in his hands. Cold violet pupils watched him from the sockets. 

Steven's scream scared off the nearby animals. He tossed the head, the body caught its missing limb and rejoined.

\- calm down, like you've never seen a bunch of bones walk -

Steven crawls back still on the ground, feels his back bump into something.

\- Hey! Are you okay? - asks a kind and nervous voice.

Steven opens his mouth in total surprise, there were two beings of the same height when he was fourteen years old, he was an anthropomorphic bunny, he wore a green sweatshirt and orange shorts while his friend was a broccoli?!

\- eh-eh-eh-eh ye-yeah I'm fine! -

He got up quickly and walked backwards until he was away from the characters he just met, he turns the corner and feels a tremor in the ground that stops him abruptly.

From the sky he sees a circle of clouds leading to several purple boxes with the capital letters "BM" in front. Steven watches as the boxes open showing various robots? And they immediately start attacking the whole place.

\- this is the day of its doom Lakewood Plaza Turbo! - shouts the red robot with a single eye on its face using its hand as a cannon.

\- Hahahaha! Being villains never goes out of style! - says an orange and brown-skinned robot, turning her feet into saws and her hands into weapons.

\- My dear brothers, the people of this horrible place are discrediting our wonderful entrance - says a green robot with a pointed nose making a pose of vanity.

\- I'm Jethro! - Answers a small blue robot that moved slowly.

It goes without saying that a yellow cat and a another violet also appeared, equally robots.

Steven narrowly dodged the debris that flew in his direction, panic over what was happening overwhelming him. He tried to move his legs but he was petrified, brief memories of his life in danger made him paralyze where he was. Again that feeling of helplessness and worthlessness.

_\- Come on Steven !, Move! You have been through this thousands of times, you are supposed to already know what to do! Move! .....—_

\- not so fast Boxmore robots, you guys made a serious mistake attacking this day! -

Steven sees that a few meters from him three people emerge from a large store, a brunette girl with purple hair, a boy with blue skin, a pair of antennae, large muscles and finally a small boy who did not wear shoes with red bands ay the head, wrists, and pink legs warmers.

\- this time we will beat you as losers that you are! - They are attacked by the one-eyed robot showing its sharp teeth.

\- If we are losers then why do we beat them all week? - asks the brunette girl with a mocking smile and making her classmates laugh at the same time.

The robots make wildly exaggerated faces and immediately the orange robot responded with great anger.

\- because you are damn cheating heroes, but with the new daddy update we will sweep the ground with your faces! -

The robots with their new updates do not wait and rush to attack the small group of heroes who respond with a counterattack, with difficulty Steven turns the corner and hides a bit but still watching the battle.

Steven witnesses the incredible attacks of the heroes fighting against the robots. There were fire kicks from the girl, levitation powers from the blue boy, and powerful power blows from the boy.

But in an oversight the older youth are knocked out by a huge explosion and a huge hammer that left them in a deep crater. The only one standing was that child who was the perfect target for the bad guys who didn't last a second to attack him.

\- Surrender KO, you won't be able to beat us this time! -

The boy made several attacks at once and a more powerful blast sent him flying at high speed.

If someone did not do something then the child was going to end up very hurt.

Steven feels the sweat down his forehead, he was tired of being in the middle of fights and numerous enemies, but that did not mean that he should be indifferent and see how they hurt someone else, especially someone smaller than him. A look of determination appeared on his face and with a powerful leap he rose through the air until he found the child, took him and cradled him in his arms.

\- Hey! Are you okay? -

KO immediately regained consciousness and opened her eyes in surprise, he instantly realized that she was in the air and clung tightly to Steven who was worried about her condition.

\- ah, what happened ?, where are my friends? - asks in panic.

-Those robots with whom you fought left them unconscious in a crater ....-

KO looks at Steven's face for the first time and notices that there is concern on his face, so it means that he must not be an enemy or a villain.

The two look at the ground and see the robots laughing thinking they won.

KO couldn't let them win, so he looks back at Steven - I know what I have to do, with all your might throw me at them - he points his index finger at the group of bad guys.

Steven looks at him with utter mistrust - are you sure? You could get hurt! -

KO smiled with determination - trust me, this time we will win! -

Steven accepts and internally tells himself that everything goes well, he takes KO by the arm and begins to spin quickly in the sky, he sees that the boy's fists turn blue and purple. Steven immediately throws KO against the robots.

**\- Power Fist! -**

KO launches his attack creating a great explosion and a great barrier of dust, Steven lands covering his eyes and witnesses the beating that the robots received sending them to fly to the other side of the street where it seems a gloomy place.

Steven sees that he is KO celebrating and jumps for joy, so that meant the fight was over and the good guys have won. He smiles a little, the important thing was that no one was hurt.

\- Thank you very much for helping me - The boy suddenly appears by his side and shakes his hand - Are you new around here? I had never seen you before, my name is KO...-


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is not my first language, I sincerely apologize for my bad spelling and grammar.

Steven was going to speak but the moans of the boys who had been crushed earlier caught their attention.

\- Boys! -

KO leaves Steven and runs towards the crater, this was a plus point for him, he immediately walks away from the scene and turns the corner where the van is.

\- _but what just happened?_ \- He asks himself. - _where I am_? -

Steven looks at the big sign where it exactly announces the place - Lakewood Plaza Turbo, but I don't understand it, this is not where I parked last night, what is happening!? -

Steven runs to the van and sees that everything is still the same and that meant seeing Lion continue sleeping and being oblivious to what happened around him. The adolescent goes up and closes the doors, looks for his cell phone immediately and when he has it in his hand he searches the GPS for his location.

It is strange because the cell phone shows a totally different location from where it was last night, it searched again for the route it was going to travel but zero results appeared or its search did not match any place.

Steven felt his hands tremble and he felt his heavy breathing - calm Steven, there must be a mistake ... - he says to himself trying to be positive, to have no doubt he searched for Beach City in the browser but the result that appeared in his cell phone made his face turn pale and show a grimace of disbelief ...

_"Place not found"_

_._

\- Rad, Enid! You must have seen how I defeated all the boxmore robots! -

Subjects known as Rad and Enid were still reeling from their outright humiliation but were happy that KO had won.

\- Your victory would have been one hundred percent great with my unique participation - Rad says with his pride crushed.

\- another day, another victory for the employees of Gar's bodega - says Enid ruffling KO's hair.

\- Oh, I almost forgot! I received help from someone I had not seen before, he is about ...! There .... - KO looks at the young teenager who had given him a hand but there was no one in the place - oh what a bad, I couldn't even know his name ... - KO sighs disappointed.

\- Cheer up little friend, maybe you'll see him again another day -

\- Yes, maybe... -

. 

The more he looked, the more evident it was that something was wrong, all the places he knew did not appear in the browser, not even the route he had drawn on his cell phone.

He repeatedly searched for "Beach City", but it just seemed like no such place existed. Steven took a deep breath and sank down on Lion.

\- Friend, I think we are in serious trouble ...-

Lion opens one eye and grunts at the situation.

The teenager downplays it and looks at the roof of the van with annoyance - I think this time I'll let breakfast pass ... - He closes his eyes and lets himself be carried away by the softness of Lion's mane.

. 

Three days have passed since he ended up in that place. Steven could have spent all the time screaming and destroying things because he had no response to his unfortunate situation but instead he preferred to be neutral and pay attention to the beings that passed and the environment, so as not to raise suspicions, he parked the van behind the great Plaza.

He did not leave the van during the day, he preferred to do it at night riding on Lion and seeing the various stores when they were closed. The main attraction was a large wine cellar, and looking at the stickers on the glass doors and windows, they had to assume that they did not sell normal products.

There were offers, promotions, discounts, a wide variety of items for "heroes".

Some time ago, Steven had developed a good sense of deduction and, judging by the locals walking around, it meant that he was not in an ordinary place.

Well, who was he to say that it was normal if most of his life he lived with gems from space?

Touche. 

Steven also explored the forest behind the bodega and where he parked, although he quickly dismissed that place because he encountered dinosaurs and other fantastic beings.

Can you believe it? Real dinosaurs!

If they had been corrupted gems they would have immediately become friends. But he emphatically repeated to himself that this was not his world. He was a stranger. Someone who didn't belong there.

Fortunately, he still had a signal on his phone and was able to connect to the network, on his own he investigated the world that had received him in such a mysterious way.

The first thing to highlight is that everyone had a side to serve, good or bad, a world of heroes and villains who fight among themselves and coexist as if it were the most common.

Several renowned heroes appeared with their heroic feats and also the most wicked and evil villains in history.

He also investigated about the place in front of the Plaza that gave him a bad feeling, it turned out to be a factory that created and sold robots and was at the service of the bad guys, "Boxmore" that was the name, while the winery on the other side of the street sold items for all kinds of heroes. "Gar's Bodega".

What redundancy.

This hectic world was definitely not for him. He did not want any more wars, was it so difficult to ask that in his favor? He could not be there knowing that the good and the bad fight as if it were a routine.

Although Steven was nobody to demand a world foreign to him.

He could only hope what would happen next.

For his good or bad luck he was very far from the Cristal Gems, and if he called her, what would he say to them? _"Girls, I'm stranded in a place that even I don't know, come help me"_

That would sound absurd.

There were only very few options left, to live in the van like his dad when he was young or to get a place to stay and learn to live by the rules of that world while looking for a way. 

. 

Steven thanked Amethyst for packing many delicious supplies, to prevent spoilage he enclosed the food in bubbles and stored them inside Lion's mane. He only kept the essentials.

Oh yeah, as for Lion, it seems that he didn't mind being somewhere else, he was a lonely creature so he knew how to take care of himself and walk around alone.

If Steven had left Beach City alone and ended up in his current situation anyway, he would surely go crazy being alone in a different world. He was really grateful to Lion for being with him.

Lion could walk out of the van like nothing else, oh, it was also good to ward off nosy, a couple of hours ago a group of "cool teenagers", had approached A talking human strawberry, a red haired girl without a leg and a white bird.

Steven was in the pilot's seat when he saw them approach, intending to see the van and cause trouble. Steven took off his headphones and turned his face to see his furry friend.

\- Lion, some strangers are approaching, what are we going to do? - He asks with slight fear.

Lion looked bored at his owner, got up and opened the doors of the van with his nose, Steven saw through the mirror that the intruders stopped but did not last another second on their feet because Lion sent them flying with a powerful roar.

\- That could work for now ... - He says crossing his arms worried.

.

A couple of hours later.

KO was doing his favorite part after school, cleaning the bodega! Having everything in order was the pure path to greatness. Something like that Mr. Gar had told him, and it must be true, his boss was one of the best heroes in the square including his mommy. 

KO sighed in satisfaction, the floor was like a mirror, even Enid had to wear sunglasses due to the dazzling floor.

The doors of the cellar open, it was Red Action. She did not have her typical cool girl from the future face because her face said that something had happened to her.

\- Hey Red, how are you? - Enid asks.

\- you know, being cool with my tank and hanging out with the guys ... -

\- and why the long face? -

\- Something very strange happened, I was with the boys and we were on our way to our place back there in the stores, and a strange van was parked there -

\- _A van? Isn't it one of Boxmore's? - KO asks himself._

\- Suddenly a big monster came out and threw me, Druppa and Gregg across the square -

\- Monster? Don't you think you're exaggerating a bit? - Enid boring question.

\- no, it's seriously!

\- Hmm, the boss would have already told us if he had found something strange behind the plaza - says Enid with disinterest.

\- KO, do me a favor and throw these big heavy garbage bags back there -

Unexpectedly Rad throws the bags on top of KO.

\- but Rad I ... -

\- oh, and don't forget to clean the shelves ... -

The muscular giant returned to his post to do what he was doing from the beginning ... nothing ...

KO sighs tiredly but his mood changed, he would have to go back and it was exactly where Red was attacked, it was the perfect opportunity to investigate. With a triumphant smile she took the bags and with effort went to fulfill her order.

.

When he dropped the bags, he pressed his back against the wall and was very quiet. He was thinking of a plan in case things got tough.

KO leaves his concentration when hearing the sound of an instrument, it was a guitar. He slowly sticks his head out and the first thing he sees is the van as Red had said, someone was inside because a leg was outside. An ultimate monster wouldn't touch something so ... beautiful and sad at the same time.

. 

Steven had found his dad's old guitar somewhere in the van. It had been a while since he'd played an instrument, the electric guitar didn't count, he couldn't remember when it was the last time he'd played his ukulele.

After Lion scared those intruders he relaxed with the idea that no one would come again. Even the big pink cat went back to sleep.

He ran his fingers along the strings of the instrument, something slow to kill the time.

He remembered the thousands of songs he had sung, all of them were somewhat childish but he also memorized the ones that the gems sang at hers moment. 

He remembered a vague song when he was younger and the gems sang it in the first days that he had moved in with them.

Those memories seemed to be beautiful but they also had a difficult and dry context, such as the fact that his father was very liberal with him and did not put restrictions on him or take care of him. But he also understood that there was tension between him and Perla about Rose. Well, his mom ... could love whoever she wanted and she chose Greg.

She was free about who to love and appreciate, two very different terms. And Pearl believed that her existence should revolve around ... her diamond even after hiding her true identity. Perla liked to feel special but she forgot something extremely important, to appreciate herself. Though she couldn't be blamed like that, pearls were unfortunately made to be helpful and loyal.

how much things had changed.

Steven closed his eyes as he let himself be carried away by the song that was on his mind but also present on the guitar.

Could it be that ..... Did the gems hold a grudge towards Greg for appearing in Rose's life? If he hadn't appeared she would still be with them, and perhaps in the future she would reveal her true identity as a Diamond? Would they forgive her for lying?

_When I see the way you look_   
_Shaken by how long it took_   
_I could do about anything_   
_I could even learn how to love like you._

_Love Me like You._

And him, where would he be?

Of course Steven Universe would not exist.

He finished playing the last string singing the final note. It was relaxing to be calm in the van.

.   
.   
. 

\- Could you .... play that song again? -

Steven opens his eyes, he was not as alone as he seemed. I look out of the van and there was the boy who had helped a few days ago looking at him carefully.

\- I thought it was a monster that was hanging around here ..... oh someone worse but .... it's about you, I knew I would see you again! -

Says the child with an expression of immense joy. Steven makes a slightly nervous face. What were this kid's name, oh yeah, KO.

\- Hi ... -

\- You didn't tell me your name when we met ... and well, what's your name? -

\- Well ... my name is Steven, Steven Universe ... -

\- .... that's ... The best name I've ever heard in my life! Where do you come from? What brings you to the plaza? Can I see your pow card? Why are you here? Do you live in a van? Do you like the color pink? ..... -

Steven blinked at the thousands of KO questions, this kid was very trusting with strangers, and that was bad right? He put his hands on KO's shoulders.

\- Hey, calm down, one question at a time ....

KO calmed down but the excitement was there - could you do it again? -

\- do you....like it? -

\- Yes, I don't know anyone who plays the guitar like you - KO says a little sad and who wouldn't be when asking a stranger to play a song too personal ... - You could play it again, of course if you don't mind .... -

\- mmm, I guess that would be fine ... -

Steven smiled a little, invited KO to sit on the edge of the van, set the guitar back on his lap, and started playing again.

.

_"Steven Universe ....... Steven Universe ....... Steven Universe ......."_

Where had he heard that before?

Ko felt he knew that name.

He would solve it later, for now, he preferred to be attentive to the sound of the instrument.

. 

How had they come to this?

It was not the last time that KO saw Steven, he was going to see him practically almost all the time, it was something sudden, the little hero saw the teenager after school, before going to work, minutes before finishing the break and before to go home.

KO felt a connection with Steven, he didn't know how to describe it, he felt good, he told him about his day, his friends, his little family and the buffoons that attack the square every day. He had too much confidence in a stranger.

As for Steven .... He was surprised to see KO's insistence on being with him and sharing the time. And it's not that the young adult was bothered, it actually seemed good to him, analyzing things about his situation well, he was not going to end well if he began to be hostile to the residents of the place.

Decided to see how things are with KO by his side, it would be nice to distract his mind.

He let KO speak all he wanted, his anecdotes made him laugh and understand that crazy world.

They have done that routine for a week. Steven once asked KO why he came to see only him every day. The response he received exceeded his expectations.

\- _I don't know how to say this but, I want to be with you ... would you let me have your friendship? -_

Steven feels his eyes turn to stars like when he was a child.

If it had been his old self, a chubby kid would have partied and been merry, well, they couldn't blame him, every time Steven wanted to make new friends most of them wanted to kill him.

. 

KO met Lion in a funny way, when Steven played the guitar _(a small agreement between them)_ the little hero was on top of the big pink cat.

KO thought at first it was a bean bag. When Lion got up he scared KO who ended up in Steven's arms, who didn't expect KO to be so light despite having small muscles.

Lion gave a big yawn showing his sharp teeth and looked at the little guest.

\- hey Lion, this is our friend, Lion, KO, KO, Lion -

KO greeted with a nervous smile, the big pink cat took a new position and went back to sleep.

\- Could I pet it? -

Steven nodded. KO walks towards Lion and touches his mane, more confidently strokes his head, the little hero our pure happiness on his face.

\- he's so soft! - KO rubs his face against Lion's mane.

\- _"I thought the same thing until he caught me to discover his dimensional pocket inside the mane"_ \- Steven thinks a little sarcastic.

. 

\- What ?, How are you leaving ?, Was it because of something I said ?, Am I bothering you ?, I am so sorry Steven, I did not want to make you feel bad! - KO says crying and hugging her Steven's waist, the young teenager barely noticed that the little hero was Ruby's height, Or maybe Peridot? No, maybe if he was Ruby's height, KO reached the middle of her stomach.

Steven arches an eyebrow. He ends up putting some tools away in the van and kicks him away slightly - I never said I was going KO, I said I was going to find a place to live - he takes a bottle of water and drinks it.

The boy takes his face off his shirt - I thought you lived in the van -

Steven spits out the water he was drinking at what he said - it's only temporary, you see, I'm on ... vacation, and I need a place to stay, I can't stay in a van forever -

\- mmm, you could buy a house -

\- I wish I could, technically here they use another type of exchange of goods -

\- Ah? Well, what kind of money do you have? -

Steven shows KO a $20 green piece of paper.

\- However, I have more than clear that here you use ..."Technoes", this thing that you have in your hands I know it as a dollar -

KO takes a closer look at the type of money Steven gave him - so everything you have in money is called dollars and not Technoes -

\- yes, you get it fast - KO returns the dollar and Steven keeps it in the yellow envelope that his father had given him. 

\- and I must assume you have it all there -

\- yes, for now I must use it correctly so ... KO, what do you think you're doing!?, Come back here! -

Steven witnessed KO take the yellow envelope from his hands and ran with a trail of dust behind him.

KO had robbed him. And following him around the plaza was not an option.

Steven realized that Lion had woken up and was oblivious to the situation as usual, but he could tell that he was having fun.

\- Stop making fun of Lion, this is not funny - he says bitterly.

.

Near dusk.

\- Ready! Your vacation will not be cut short due to lack of economic assets! -

KO appears again with the envelope totally happy entering the van. Steven takes off the headphones when he feels something heavy on his stomach causing him to lose his breath.

\- KO, what the....? -

\- Did you know that in Gar's Bodega we also sell money? I talked to my boss and he helped me see how many Technoes the "dollars" you had with you were worth, although it seemed strange to him but we did the calculations anyway, and well, here you have...-

Steven opens the envelope and apparently the Technos were more in quantity than the old dollars. He looks at the face of the minor and it is seen that he was waiting for a response to his good deed.

\- Wow, I don't know what to say KO ... Thanks - Steven ruffles the little hero's hair making him laugh.

\- In return I want something ... - KO drew a malicious smile.

\- Eh? Well then ... What do you want? -

\- I want you to ..... Let me record your songs for my video channel! - KO takes out her cell phone with her cute little frog protector from her pants.

\- ...... -

\- You see, I have realized that you are very talented and I am very sure that you could share this gift that you have with others through social networks -

Steven makes a face and looks away - I don't know KO, the songs you listen to and play on the guitar have lyrics and ... they don't exactly have an adorable message ..... -

\- What do you mean? - Asks the minor slightly, sitting on his lap.

\- You see, they are pieces that were part of childhood which .... it was not very funny ..... - he says in a whisper, KO blinked because he thought he had seen something in Steven's eyes, a pink reflection. Immediately the young adult changes his mood - let me think about it, ok? ... -

\- okay ...- KO makes a nervous face.

.

A few days have passed.

Steven found a house in a nice neighborhood, he had what it took for one person and ... his Lion to live.

Since then he has not seen KO, well, the van was no longer in the plaza and the young teenager had been busy looking for a house. He got it at a good price, he just needed a coat of bright paint and a little garden fix.

He only got looks from his "new neighbors" because the van was not like any other vehicle and because Lion was on the loose, the rest was fine.

Steven bought new groceries and the closest to reality and put them in the freezer, washed his clothes, washed the van and now he was going to do some gardening.

With caution he took it upon himself to do everything manually and not involve his magic saliva. And by the way, he planted the flower Cactus-Steven had given him in a pot before he left.

A sad and beautiful memory ........ he should not have passed his problems to a harmless plant, Steven had been to blame for having said all those things, he never wanted him to become a plant monster, he only wanted someone with who to speak ...

\- Steven! -

The aforementioned finishes planting a great variety of flowers on the ground and looks for who had called him.

However he was knocked down and ended up on his back against the ground. The mystery was revealed, it was KO who was on top of him with his backpack on his back.

\- It's been so long since I last saw you!, I went to look for you behind the plaza and I didn't find you, and-and-and I thought you were gone forever! -

Cataracts of tears flow from KO's eyes. Literally.

\- ... only three days have passed KO ... - he says with a nervous smile but that did not calm the child. 

\- But for me it was an eternity! - He hid his face in his black t-shirt with a star crying louder, Steven sighs and hugs him - come on KO, that's fine, because from now on I will live here, isn't it great ? -

KO looked up and saw the house. Her eyes now show fascination and ecstasy.  
\- Incredible! So you live on the same street as me! -

\- huh?! -

\- Yes! Look, there is my house! - KO takes Steven's face and makes him see a nice house, oh, and out of the door comes a blonde woman in a full blue suit and red gloves.

\- Let's go KO or you'll be late for school! -

\- I'm coming mommy! I have to go, I'll see you until afternoon Steven! -

KO runs away and gets in the car with his mom. The little hero says goodbye to Steven through the window until he is out of sight.

Steven sighs and sees Lion on top of the van - get ready friend, it seems we will have a visit .....—


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is not my first language, I sincerely apologize for my bad spelling and grammar.

A couple of hours later. Near dusk.

\- Hey Steven! I'm here! -

KO opens the door very happy. After a long day at school and working in the bodega he walks inside the house and the first thing he sees is the big cat playing with an old shirt - hi Lion, how are you? - He caressed him a bit, left his backpack in a corner and went to explore the kitchen where his friend should be and indeed, Steven was doing the dishes.

\- hi! -

\- oh hello KO, how was your day today? -

\- Wonderful as always !, just what .... forget it is something silly - the child looks at the ground.

Steven looks worriedly at KO and stops doing what he was doing - it's not silly because it seems to affect you, what's wrong? - The teenager places him up on the counter.

\- the villains on the other side of the street are attacking the plaza more than usual and ... I don't know ... I feel that something strange is happening -

\- weird in what way? -

\- since Boxman allied with another supervillain there is more chaos and then there is that mysterious guy ... Shadowey Figure ... -

\- who is that? -

\- He is someone very dangerous, he has been prowling the plaza for a few months, my boss and I have looked for his lair but we have not had any luck, he is also determined that I release my anger and let me dominate by it ... But if I do ..... I will endanger everyone ..... -

Steven blinked for a second, could it be what KO ....?

\- KO, do you have problems with those kinds of feelings? .....—

\- ..... Yes, but a hero shouldn't feel like that ... 

\- And who says you can't? Look, I ... it's okay to feel angry ...

\- You don't understand Steven, is that .... - KO will open his mouth to continue speaking but closes it and lets out groans.

\- Hey, if you don't want to talk about that, that's fine .... -

\- No, I really want to ... also I want to tell you personally to avoid rumors among people ..... I want to talk to you about TKO ..... -

. 

Steven looked at KO who was eating some cake that he had bought, the boy was sitting on the couch while he was on the other side. After having a long talk about the problems of KO's negative emotions and his evil counterpart living in his mind that left Steven thinking.

_\- KO said that this mysterious subject told him that his other self was the manifestations of his negative emotions, so ... TKO is the personification of what KO feels? .....It seems that he is not the only one with problems besides me ... How, being a child, can he cope with that? But of course, his friends and family support him, is that enough for him? So it means that he should be in constant balance and that means controlling his anger, sadness, disappointment, fear ...—_

\- It's okay if you don't want to talk to me again ... -

Steven snapped out of his thoughts to see KO who was looking the ground very sad. 

\- Why do you think I would do that? -

\- You have been silent since I told you what is happening with me, I begin to believe that it is because you are afraid of me ... like everyone else ... -

\- KO ... - Steven brings the boy closer and covers him with his arm - I'm probably the least indicated to make a judgment about your situation, I mean .... Eh ....-

\- Did you experience something similar? -

\- well I ... -

\- Are you suffering for this now? -

\- no, no, I mean ...! -

\- Now that I think about it, I don't know nothing about you ... -

\- well, it has not been a long time that we have become friends -

\- I don't mean that, do you think I don't realize it? Wouldn't it be suspicious that a boy your age had a van with a Lion especially alone? -

KO gets up and faces Steven.

\- I'm 16 years old, I'm practically a young adult! -

\- that's not even an age! -

\- 6-11 years is not practically what I would consider an age either! -

\- Exactly! There is no one that I know who is the same as you! You speak differently, you do different things, you did not use Technos like us, you have a van that is different, you express yourself differently and the only answer I have is that You are not from here, you are from another place ... -

\- ..... I think you better go ... - says Steven slightly pushing KO aside and getting up from the couch. But the youngest holds him by his arm.

\- Hey! We're not done, we need to talk! I don't care who you are, I really want to be your friend! Is this for TKO?...! -

\- It's not for you, it's for me! Listen to me very well KO, I appreciate that you want to be my friend but if you knew who I really am, who would be afraid here would be you! You don't know everything I have done, and you're right, I'm not from here, I'm from another place and I don't have the slightest idea how to go back but believe me, I'm much better away from the ones I love so as not to hurt them more than I have done, **I'm not like you think and what the last thing I want is for you to see the kind of person I am ...**! -

Steven takes several breaths and realizes that that pink glow that had not appeared again covered his skin and some of his things were on the ground due to his outburst.

He looked alarmed to KO who was against the back of the couch and was scared. He walked away and took a few steps back with tears streaming down his eyes. He had done it again. And with a little boy, he hated that feeling very much...

\- Steven .. - KO tried to speak to him.

\- Forget it KO, don't you realize? .... it's obvious that you and I can't be together .... I'll hurt you .....-

Steven turns his back on him, a few minutes later he hears the sound of the door closing. KO had left.

The teenager falls to his knees on the ground and cries in the darkness of his home. - What have I done ...? -

. 

It has been two weeks.

KO has not acted as he usually is, he has been very down, upset and sad. When his friends, his boss and his mother asked him what was wrong, he said everything was fine.At first they believed that it was his alter-ego up to something but the aura of sadness and discomfort that KO emitted was totally different when he got angry.

After the exchange of words that he had with Steven, he spent the whole night thinking, something great was hiding him so that he would act like this.

He went to his house every day, knocked on the door, rang the doorbell, looked through the windows but there was no one, not even Lion was in sight. Except for the van, it was still parked outside the house. 

In addition you could also add the fact that he has been in a bad mood all week. Even in battles his arch enemies mocked his condition, instead he told Rad and Enid to handle the fights themselves while he went back inside to be alone.

He had to immediately speak to Steven and tell him what he had been thinking on his mind for days. He was angry with himself for leaving him the night they argued, they had to clear things up between them.

And when KO wanted something or someone he did whatever was necessary.

Right now he was sweeping outside the store when that annoying purple box suddenly appeared in the sky.

Darell, Shannon, Ernesto, Raymond, Jethro, Mikayla, Fink came out of the box and a few meters away Lord Boxman and Professor Venomous had just appeared supporting their respective team.

\- Go get him my children! Make daddy feel very proud! - yells Boxman with a foam hand.

\- Fink, don't forget! Attack directly! - shouts the Professor.

KO looked at the newcomers in annoyance. And she ignored the intense gaze of the man with purple skin who stared at him incessantly.

\- ok brothers, little loser in sight! - Darell yells.

\- What's up KO? Are you afraid of losing to us, mommy's boy? - Fink laughs along with the others.

KO sighs wearily. They were just trying to provoke him, but his mind was thinking of a certain boy that he wanted to see and know if he was okay.

At that moment, Rad and Enid appear excited for the battle.

\- Are you ready to kick their ass, brush head? - asks the girl, her partner prepares his index fingers.

\- no -

\- huh !? - That surprised the other two. And incidentally to the others present.

\- KO, as your cool friend that I am, I think you should tell us what is wrong with you -

\- Yes, little friend, the two of us fighting like old times is fun, but not more when the three of us kick their gears - Rad says on the verge of tears.

\- I'm so sorry guys ...... but today I'm not in the mood for .... - KO

He did not finish his sentence because KO directed his gaze across the street, exactly to the right, then his mood changed to one of disbelief and he caught a glimpse of him, Steven, riding on Lion's back. And he quickly disappeared around the corner of one of the stores.

\- I ... eh-eh-eh, start fighting without me! -

KO didn't wait for someone to say a word because he left a trail of dust behind him and the others witnessed the little hero leaving the fight.

. 

\- STEVEN! -

He skidded on the ground, his feet burned from the friction but he didn't care, the other turns his face at the mention of his name and gets off his furry friend - KO? -

The minor runs with all his might until he wraps his arms around Steven's waist and hits his face against his abdomen. His movement causes the older boy to wobble a bit from the strong grip.

\- where were you!? I went to your house every day but I didn't find you there! I had no idea if I would see you again to tell you everything I've thought about, and and, don't do that again, you really matter me Steven ...! ... I'm so sorry ... -

\- But what are you talking about? You don't have to apologize, I'm the one who should do it! Forgive me, I-I got out of control, I almost hurt you and-and-and I would never forgive myself if I did something to you ....-

\- Steven, I have so many things to tell you and I have also thought that ..... maybe we are not so different ... -

\- KO .. If you knew who I am and what I have done you would probably walk away ... -

\- Well that's not going to happen ... -

\- huh? ... -

\- I want to know absolutely everything about you! - KO looked up and looked at Steven with determination, causing a little blush in him and his eyes turning stars again.

\- Can we ... try again? -

KO was surprised by the powerful hug from Steven, the two laugh a little at the emotion they feel at that moment.

\- So tell me, where were you? Why weren't you at home? -

\- well, after what happened, I went to many places with Lion to relax a bit, then I thought that since I will stay here for a while I got a job here in the square with Dr. Sphinxon in her shelter and veterinary for animals -

\- moment, so that means ... I'll see you every day in the plaza ?! -

\- if you want... -

\- Yes, I do! ......... Steven ... -

\- yes? -

\- Why do I feel something hard and cold in your abdomen? -

\- oh well, it's my gem ... -

KO does not understand, without waiting for something else, slightly lifts Steven's shirt and there it is, resplendent, delicate, fine, cold and above all pink. In this gemstone he sees her own reflection.

\- Wow, I've never seen anything like this ... it's beautiful ......- his hand outlines the outline of the gem making Steven laugh. It tickled him. - We have many things to talk about ... -

The two were interrupted to the tremors that occurred in the plaza.

\- what was that?! - Steven asks alarmed.

\- uh oh ... -

The two run and see KO's teammates Rad and Enid defeated on the ground. While the bad guys laughed at their victory.

The two go quickly to see if they were okay.

\- Rad, Enid, what happened!? -

\- They mashed us on the floor, that's what happened ... - Enid says before fainting.

\- We are definitely losing the beat without you KO - says Rad with groans and swollen from the blows.

\- Hahaha! It seems like someone has finally decided to join the party! - Says Boxman.

\- Dwarf! Now you are ready to fight!? - Shouts Fink in his Turbo transformation.

\- You owe us several fights, you little shoddy boy! - says Shannon.

\- Uh, it seems she has a new friend that we will enjoy hurting a lot - says Raymond.

Raymond's words caused KO to panic.

\- Ah! Steven, you have to get out of here or you will get hurt ...! - KO says.

Instead, Steven was looking at the "bad guys" with an expression of exhaustion and discomfort.

The bad guys launch their respective attacks, at that very moment Steven takes a step forward and stands in front of the minor.

\- Steven....! -

He smiles wryly, KO covers his view with his arm from the bright glare, in front of him a huge pink shield appears, causing him to protect everyone, stop the attack and cause a great screen of smoke and dust.

While everyone tries to see and cough, Steven calls Lion, who appears next to his owner and with a great roar sends everyone to fly back to Boxmore.

. 

\- No one was hurt? - Steven asks, disappearing his shield.

\- That was incredible ... - KO says admiringly.

\- I can't say the same about your friends ... -

\- they will be fine, we do this every day -

Steven and KO place Enid and Rad on top of Lion and enter the store, the youngest guides them where they enjoy their breaks, gently putting them on the couch with a blanket on top.

Before KO speaks, he sees Steven kiss his own hands and places them on both of their foreheads, instantly his injuries disappear.

\- Do you also have healing powers? - KO asks with more admiration than before.

\- Yes, great right? -

\- It's more than that! You're amazing! -

. . .

\- so.... -

\- Yes? -

\- when do we start recording the songs? - Steven asks.

\- Really ?!, I mean ..... I know they are important to you but I understand if they are too personal -

\- In fact, I think it would do me good to share them with someone special ... like you KO -

KO feels her face burn and laughs at the compliments of the older teenager.

.

After that day ....

KO was walking to his work in the bodega, he saw all the shopkeepers and regular customers of the place with their phones, he smiled and appreciated the comments he received, Steven was definitely someone unique in terms of emotions to convey through his voice.

They spent the entire weekend at the older teenager's house, obviously with the permission of his mother, who would like to personally meet the boy who stole her son's full attention.

Steven was amazed at KO's abilities to create good videos despite being so small. And they also found good female collaborations to do the covers.

But, if someone asked KO, he preferred to listen to Steven. Did anyone else know that the teenager could play electric guitar, ukulele, drums, and even the piano?

He was jealous of his own friend.

The situation would be that each week they would upload five songs.

KO totally modified their video channel and made it more professional and eye-catching. He even changed the name: KOK & SU.

When he was editing the channel's name for the two of them to appear, KO asked for his full name.

The teenager looked at him uncomfortably.

_\- "You know I won't make fun right?" -_

_\- "but it's so embarrassing ....." -_

_\- "Please, your last name 'Universe' sounds fabulous, I don't see how bad it is" -_

_\- "That's because your dad didn't get your last name from an old song from his youth ..." - Steven says something annoyed at the memory but more because of the accident that he himself caused._

_\- "oh ...." -_

_\- "........"-_

_Steven noticed the boy's sudden change in mood. -_

_\- "... actually ... I don't have a dad ..." -_

_Steven's eyes widened and he brought his hands to his mouth. - "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean ..." -_

_\- "It's Okay, the truth is that I never met him and I don't know who he is ..., I try not to think about that ..." -_

_Steven knelt at the height of KO and placed a hand on his shoulder - "so you don't have a dad huh? I ... I grew up without a mom ..." -_

_KO feels like he sees his emotions reflected in Steven's eyes._

_\- ".....So .... From a song, huh?" -_

_Steven sighs - "I'm not as pleased with my last name as I used to because of its origin, but it's better than .... Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe" -_

_KO's mouth almost touches the ground. - "Is that your full name !?"_

_Steven laughs good-naturedly - "that's why I said it was embarrassing" -_

_KO then decided to just initial both of them._

. . .

**_"Let me drive my van into your Heart"_ **   
**_"Strong in the real way"_ **   
**_"Be wherever you are"_ **   
**_"On the run"_ **   
**_"Comet"_ **

. . .

At first, Steven was concerned about the lyrics of the songs as they didn't have much common sense and were just the memories of a chubby 13-year-old for fun.

But KO didn't care, since they honestly didn't apply much logic to everyone.

The doors of the bodega opened and more and more friends from the plaza complimented him or moved to the rhythm of the songs they had published after a day!

They had already exceeded one million views and likes.

And at Steven's request, he would not reveal his name to the world. It would be a secret that he would keep jealously.

\- KO !, tell me, how did you get inspired to create such entertaining songs? - Enid asks.

\- Yes !, even I downloaded " _Comet_ " and " _Let me drive my van into your Heart_ ", they are a gold mine! - Rad says with his cell phone in his hand.

\- What can I say you? I have my methods ..... " _and someone very special_ " - he thinks the latter with his flushed face.

With that thought, he grabbed the mop and began cleaning the floors. 

Although the two suspect that KO is hiding something.

.

Mister Gar let them out early, KO grabbed her backpack and ran to the vet, arrived just in time to see Steven leave.

\- hello KO -

\- Steven, you must have seen everyone's faces in the square! They definitely loved all your songs -

Steven cocked a smile, immediately Lion jumps from the ceiling to the ground. He climbs on the feline's back - let's go home together? -

KO smiled, he sits in front of Steven and clings to Lion's mane. Immediately the feline advances with great strides.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is not my first language, I sincerely apologize for my bad spelling and grammar.

When they arrived at the older teenager's house, the two had lunch telling their respective day and success on the channel, they also talked about the songs that will be released later.

Moments later the two are on the couch. They both watch the news channel.

From one moment to the next, Steven feels his heavy eyelids.

The reason is that lately he has not been able to sleep ...

. 

Steven opens his eyes, everything is dark, where was he? What was this place? It seemed cold and desolate, with insecurity he walked with the idea of finding something.

\- Hello? Is there anyone here?! -

He was beginning to worry, could it be one of his powers manifesting? He looked for something that would give him a clue as to his whereabouts, then he saw someone in the distance on the ground. He ran with all his might, it could be someone who needed help.

He was small, with great hair, almost similar to his father's when he was young, a black T-shirt, blue shorts and he wore ... spike bracelets on his wrists ...

\- Hey! Are you okay? How did you get here? -

But Steven was driven away by a great wave of electrical power coming from that stranger. He reacted in time to summon a pink shield similar to the ones he used when he trained with ..... Jasper.

Steven sees that the stranger gets up from the cold floor, turns around and the teenager witnesses a pair of eyes full of anger, but above all "pain and despair", in addition to a row of sharp teeth.

He was exactly the same as KO, but it wasn't really him, Steven put the pieces together, so it must be about ...

\- You ... you are T.K.O, right? - Steven makes his shield disappear.

The aforementioned blinks at his name. And he smiles showing a creepy smile - finally, someone calls me for who I really am ...-

Steven took a few steps back.

\- I demand to know where I am !, Why did you bring me here ?, Do you want to fight ?, I have not had fun because KO does not let me out! -

TKO makes a smile that would make anyone's hair stand on end, but Steven had been through so much more, it was not a subject to brag about, having been close to death and having so much trouble with gems, diamonds, his dad and her mom's decisions ... He just didn't know how to respond anymore.

But what he feared the most is that he would run out of control and attack T.K.O. here between the two, who had the power and who had the strength?

\- I'm not going to fight you T.K.O! -

\- that decision is not made by you, Ste-ven! -

T.K.O lunged at Steven and hit him with his turbo-charged fists. Steven was thrown into the air but stabilized thanks to his power to float.

\- Can't we reach an agreement !? -

\- NO! Do you have any idea what it is like to be locked in KO's mind ALL the time!? Of course not! Nobody knows! As for you, since you appeared that tadpole no stop talking about how _"fabulous and amazing is his friend from another dimension"_ , and I am sick of this garbage! Now it's my turn to have fun!

T.K.O rises and throws several fists of power, Steven creates his bubble and protects himself from powerful attacks, T.K.O quickly appears and starts hitting the bubble.

\- Get out of there coward! -

\- Enough T.K.O, the last thing I want to do is hurt you! -

\- you, hurt me!?, Don't make me laugh! -

T.K.O hits the bubble directly against the ground creating a large crater.

\- there is no one more powerful than ME! Hahahahaha! -

As T.K.O laughs maniacally at his ecstasy, Steven undoes his protection and falls to the ground on his knees, his little friend's alter-ego was very strong.

Steven held his breath when T.KO appeared inches from his face.

\- I don't know what he saw in you KO that you are SO special to him, but for me, you are NOTHING !, just a poor braggart who is running away from something! - T.K.O pushed Steven with every step he advanced - you may have fooled KO but not me! I know a perfect liar when I see him! -

T.K.O was going to hit Steven again but the older one stops his fist - you don't know me! -He covered his hands with two bubbles and hit the youngest.

\- ah, show me everything you have! -

While T.K.O threw fists and attacks left and right, Steven used their respective shields and when he had the opportunity he hit T.K.O but only managed to excite him more, and chose to provoke him, he wanted to see how strong Steven was.

\- you are a fraud! -

\- T.K.O, enough already! -

\- Why are you running Steven? -

\- stop! -

\- Did you do something wrong? -

\- no! -

\- Who are you then? Why are you here? What did you do? -

\- N-no, I didn't do anything! -

\- Lie! I can feel your anger, your rage, and your frustration hiding, go ahead Steven, are you as good as you seem !? -

\- YOU DO NOT KNOW ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING ABOUT ME! -

Steven creates a shock wave and sends T.K.O flying really far, also he created a huge crack due to his outburst, clenching his teeth, and with that resplendent pink glow he heads towards T.K.O at high speed. The minor could not dodge and was thrown to the ground. The dust disperses and T.K.O is ... laughing.

\- hahahaha, now we are really fighting! - T.K.O stands up and counterattacks.

. 

They seem to have spent hours but it was only minutes, Steven breathes in an agitated way, T.K.O also, the whole place is full of craters, cracks and deep holes, neither was willing to stop, one of the two would fall. They were both badly hurt but neither was going to back down.

\- What's up Steven!? You gave up already !? -

\- I CAN CONTINUE FIGHTING IF YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH! -

Steven is the first to launch himself against T.K.O and was carried away by his negative emotions more than before making the place reel before the great power of both, but more by Steven.

With his speed power, Steven hit T.K.O several times without him having a chance to defend himself, he twisted his fist and slammed him into the ground, immediately crushed him with that heavy thickness hexagonal shield, he heard the choking scream of the minor and consumed Out of his anger he also re-created that spike barrier ready to launch against T.K.O until something stopped him.

The look of T.K.O. There was anger, pain, there was ... fear at the powerful weapon that was going straight at him.

Steven woke up from his emotional trance, with gasps he looked at his hands, he was about to do it again, he quickly undid his attack and went to T.K.O who was very hurt and backed away but changed his position.

\- What do you think they were doing ?!, Attack me !, I can deal with whatever ...! -

Steven knelt on the ground, the pink glow disappearing and now there was only regret and pain on his face.

\- T.K.O .... -

Steven wraps him in his arms tightly- I'm so sorry ...-

\- Eh !?, Get away from me ...! -T.K.O tries to get away from him but Steven tightens his grip on him and no matter who the youngest is, he drops his tears

\- T.K.O, I'm so sorry, I didn't want to do this to you! -

T.K.O restrains himself and clenches his sharp teeth, because there are small tears in his own eyes, but of impotence and courage, he being someone so complex does not know what to say or respond since he was created based on negative emotions. Without stopping crying, Steven turns away from him a little, takes the face of the minor who puts his hands on his wrists to stop him, however it was totally unexpected for him that ... Steven kissed his forehead.

He was going to protest against such a cheesy act but he stops because he feels his whole body being magically healed. His injuries, his bones, his swollen face, everything was fine. Slightly surprised he looks at Steven.

\- What did you do? -

\- ..... KO didn't mention that I have healing powers? -

\- He says many things about you, I definitely wouldn't remember it if he had said it ..... -

Steven tries to laugh but can't, maybe he healed T.K.O but the memory of what he was about to do was still present. He was going to do the same thing again and with a child. What the hell was happening to him !?

Steven embraces T.K.O again, perhaps that way his regret would hurt less.

\- what happened here!? -

Steven looks up, in front of him was KO with a surprised expression and next to him was ... himself. His myself in pink, how long had it been since he'd last seen him, ah yeah, when White Diamond had taken the gem from him. He looked exactly like him, that included the clothes.

But why would he be here too?

\- Steven! -The minor comes running towards them with his another pink me following him with his expressionless face.

T.K.O. Hearing his voice she separates and looks at his good counterpart furious. - you finally appear worm -

\- T.K.O? Are you here too? How is that possible? -

\- I don't know, I don't have all the answers ... although it's better than being in your empty head ....-

\- Well, then explain to me, why is this place a mess !? -

\- Well, well ... T.K.O and I started with the left foot ... and we solved everything through the fists? ... - Steven laughs nervously.

\- .... No, it is also partly my fault, I provoked Steven, we fought them for several minutes, and by the way, I won ...

\- The second round was totally my fault because I started, so we both did this - Steven says, sharing part of his irresponsibility.

T.K.O looked at Steven, they usually always blamed him for everything bad and believed that KO was carried away by his anger when in reality he was someone independent trapped in someone's mind.

KO looks at the two with concern, the two were talking in a civilized way with each other, it was a positive that TKO talked and socialized with someone else - well, I'm relieved that no one is hurt, and by the way, I met this nice friend from few words, he was looking for you Steven -

His other half looks at him from above as he is still on the ground, Steven gets up and shakes off his clothes without looking away.

\- Hi -

-........ -

-........ -

-......... -

\- He doesn't say much, right? - KO asks, whispering to Steven.

\- He is like that .....-

\- And what is he of you exactly? - KO asks.

-And above all why does he have that stupid poker face? -

T.K.O flies around Pink-Steven with a clear intention of annoying him, instead, the pink boy moves his cold diamond eyes and stares at the child, T.K.O is a bit uncomfortable but he would not allow someone so expressionless and pink to intimidate him.

\- You think you're very rude huh? I bet I can smash your face against the ground! -

-...... -

\- Stop looking at me like that! -

-....... -

.

While T.K.O is distracted with Pink-Steven, KO and Steven sit quietly on the floor.

\- Is he your alter-ego? -

\- no ..., he is ... the physical manifestation of my gem -

\- .... wait a minute, you mean, the gem in your abdomen, it's him, but with a body? -

\- yes ... -

KO looks at Steven concerned, then looks at his double tolerating T.K.O.

\- I suppose this is due to me, I can connect with others through dreams -

\- You surprise me more and more ... Steven, when I got here, I found several things in particular ... -

\- what kind of things? -

\- Your memories... -

-....... -

\- I saw the ones that were very important in your childhood -

\- Does that mean you saw me as a fat and silly child? -

\- Of course not, I saw you and there is a big difference between you and your past self ... if we had met you before we would have quickly become friends ...-

Steven smiles ruefully.

\- So tell me, who are you? What is affecting you? -

\- It's nothing really ... -

\- mmm .... So why do I feel that your memories revolve around your mother? -

KO pulls out the portrait of Steven's mother from somewhere, the same one that he had left in Leon's mane. The older man's face turns pale.

\- she is not involved in this! - Steven takes the portrait and throws it away. Older teenager lies down on the ground, KO does the same.

\- .... everything that happened in my life will be like a long story ... -

\- We have a lot of time and I doubt that the two of them want to stop what they are doing - says KO looking at T.K.O teasing to Pink-Steven with harmless attacks but the older one created shields.

. 

After a while.

\- Let me see if I understand ... Your mother was one of the great matriarchs of space on a planet called "Homeworld" that is inhabited by gems literally, she wanted a planet to rule and have her own colony it was the earth, then she realized all its beauty and realized that it was destroying it, so as her position was not important for her other companions she decided to make a rebellion posing as someone else, she found several allies and to put an end, her "Pearl" she transformed into her to make her "death" more real, the diamonds launched an attack on the entire rebellion and caused the gems to be corrupted, then thousands of years later, she meets your dad who was running away from home and looking for the path to greatness, they start dating and years later you are born, and for that she had to give up her physical form because you two could not exist, you grow up and move in with the only survivors of the war to train and master your powers ... - KO says finishing saying the notes in his little notebook.

\- Over time you realize that like everyone in this pathetic world has personal problems, and emphasizing that you should be at the height of your mother, then gems from that stupid place come to earth and they believe that you are your mother for That thing in your stomach, that created an identity crisis in you, especially because they told you the "bad" side of the leader of the rebellion. Then over time you stopped seeing your mother as a heroine and took her down from her pedestal, you had to fix everyone's problems and hers so that they would stop blaming you, then you discovered the truth about her alleged "death" and who she was. really, oh but also diamonds wanted to puree you because they were still hurt after thousands and thousands of years, you told them the truth and they all stopped sharing with her, but your life as a young adult is in ruin because of everything that happened in your childhood and that brought you here under the pretext of being on vacation ... - says T.K.O bored who came back with them and heard half the story.

Steven widened his eyes, on his right side was T.K.O and on his left side was KO, while Pink-Steven was against his head.

\- you two understood everything quickly, it took me to digest everything in three years ... -

T.K.O and KO exchanged glances.

\- So what you have embedded in your abdomen, is it a diamond? - KO asks.

\- yes -

\- ... And you don't feel pain? -

\- no, I was born with it so it's a part of me -

T.K.O has no idea what his good counterpart is talking about, so without asking permission, he lifted Pink-Steven's shirt, there was indeed a head diamond.

\- This is very crazy ... -

He says pretending that Pink-Steven's gloomy gaze didn't affect him, so he went back to his place.

Very soon the place begins to disappear, the four exchange glances, the young adult must be waking up.

. 

Steven blinks, the only thing that lights up his living room is the light from the television. He immediately feels an extra weight next to him, it was KO who was snuggled under his arm. Steven smiled a little, got up and placed a pillow on the boy's head and covered him with a blanket.

He took the remote control and turned off the television, saw the time on the wall clock and realized that night had come. He also turned on the lights outside.

At that moment someone knocks on his door, who could it be? Steven goes and opens it, in the entrance was the woman with the blue suit and blonde hair, oh yes, it was KO's mother.

\- Hi, maybe you don't know me but I do know you, by the way, my name is Carol -

\- ah, I remember, you are KO's mom -

\- That's right, I came home after closing the dojo in the plaza but I didn't find my little pumpkin, so I assumed that it would be here with you -

\- Oh yeah, he's actually asleep on the couch ...- Steven stands aside for Carol to enter and see how her son is doing.

\- Aw, my little hero is so tired .... -

Steven cocks a smile, seeing Carol caress her son's head brought back memories of his dad preparing him for sleep, and when Greg couldn't, so did the gems, especially Perla, although she had that strange fetish of watching him sleep at night .

Pleasant memories that were far in the past.

\- I have an idea, since KO did not have dinner and I suppose neither did you, why don't I prepare dinner for both of you? - Carol asks with a smile

\- Really? I mean, you don't have to do it for me .. -

\- Nonsense !, It would be an opportunity to get to know you better Steven, my KO did not talk about someone other than his work friends-

Steven led Carol into the kitchen, the grown woman was a bit surprised because there was a giant Lion playing with a box.

\- don't worry, he's meek -

Carol smiled, Steven started by turning on the stove, the grown woman pulled ingredients out of the fridge.

\- This dinner is special, today is spaghetti night! -

Steven smiled, it would be nice to interact with the mom of his little friend and maybe learn a little more about him.

. 

KO shifted between the covers, straightened up and stretched both arms to release the tension from her muscles, gave a small yawn and looked for Steven. After having had a shared dream, he immediately went to talk to T.K.O about what he had discovered, the last memories of Steven he had kept before they parted. He would analyze them to find something and see what Steven was running from.

T.K.O scoffed and expressed that they were just absurd things, KO took T.K.O's shirt and expressed that they would see what happened to Steven the two of them TOGETHER, T.K.O agreed to be a part, just because KO started to act stranger than normal and to leave him alone and also because ... Steven had healed him.

A delicious smell reached his nose, he heard noises and voices, still drowsy he got up from the sofa and walked towards the kitchen.

\- Steven? Are you here? ... -

\- there you are darling! -

KO feels the dream go out of his eyes and sees his mom next to Steven.

\- Mommy! What are you doing here? -

\- I came to get you my little pumpkin but you were asleep -

\- So your mom kindly offered to make dinner - Steven says placing the plates on the table.

-Does that mean we'll have dinner with Steven?!, At his house!?, Yes! -

KO sits at the table, Carol and Steven place the food on the table and start a conversation while dining in a comfortable setting.

.

Two days later.

Steven left the vet, he had finished his shift at work, he immediately felt his jacket vibrate, it was his phone, he had received a message from KO.

- _"Hey Steven! Rad and Enid went to make some deliveries from the bodega, that means I'm alone, so I was wondering if you would like to keep me company" -_

Steven quickly types an " _ok_ " and calmly turns the corner, Lion also goes with him since since they arrived the big cat has become a little more mischievous.

When he goes through all the shops until he reaches the bodega, the glass doors open wide, they both enter and are almost knocked down by the little hero who was cleaning the floor at high speed.

\- Hi Steven! Just give me a second, this floor will almost look like a mirror! -

The older one looked at the ground and it was definitely very glowing, very. He covered his face with his forearm and with his other hand Lion's eyes.

\- Don't you think the floor it's already too dazzling? -

\- Not at all! It is as my Boss says, a bright floor is the way to a bright heart ... It also leaves the wicked blind! -

Steven blinked at the funny expression, shook his head and laughed a little - so everyone here takes their career as a hero very seriously huh? - He leans on the counter.

At the mention of hero and career KO's eyes show passion and ecstasy - of course they do! I mean ... My mom and Mr. Gar are a great example of heroes here in the Plaza, my friend Enid is half wolf-vampire who wants to be a ninja who wants to be a hero, while Rad pretends to be quite a male subject but in reality he is very noble and I ... well -

\- Don't you know what you want to be? -

\- Something like that, before I idolized a super cool hero called Chip Damage, he was the best and the word hero stayed completely in him, but it turned out to be a failure and a fraud, they were just androids projected in a hologram ... me I was very devastated after that ... -

\- What about your friends? Do they know how you feel? -

\- Yes, but sometimes I feel that they don't care too much, they are older than me and are busy with their own problems, and I understand it! They probably already know what they will do next and as for me ... I'm just a 6-11 years old boy who has yet to grow ... -

- _"I know how you feel",_ you can't blame yourself for that KO, every child admires someone and that's not wrong ... -

\- I know, I know, it's just that afterwards I didn't know what to do, before I was determined to be a lonely hero like him but now ... and with the existence of T.K.O inside my mind, I don't know what to do ... I pretend that everything is fine so as not to worry others ....- he sighs in frustration.

\- KO ... - Steven takes the mop out of his hands and sits it on the counter, now the two are at the same height - if I have learned something is that you decide who you want to be, you decide what kind of "Hero" You decide to be, you will be a great one in your own way and your style, being a "hero" does not mean being strong or having a thousand powers, it means that you are willing to sacrifice yourself for others and you will be recognized for your feats by acting helpful and attentive to others , just as you are now .... -

\- B-but, what about T.K.O, he-he ...! -

\- I only know T.K.O and what he has done because of what you have told me, however, it is understandable that he acts like this because they are your emotions of fear, anger, frustration and pain, sincerely I do not justify what he did before, it is just that ... when I fought against him I saw a little grouch kid who is only afraid of being ..... alone ... -

KO opens his eyes to that information, he vaguely remembered the first time he had locked T.K.O in the cage and who desperately screamed and ... cried, there was also anger and despair when he returned from fighting with Boxman Jr, however he convinced him to lend him his power on the condition of no more cages.

He remembered the few moments when the two of them shared time playing video games, and no matter how many times the two of them were there, in the end T.K.O was always left alone in his mind.

He felt Steve's fingers clean the little tears from him.

\- Steven ..... what would be the cure for T.K.O? .....-

\- .... Love.... -

KO was surprised, that was not something he had thought about even with Dendy when trying to control the energy of his alter-ego, he immediately let out a small laugh at T.K.O's screams and curses in his mind as he could witness everything through their eyes. Without a doubt, his alter-ego must be burning with shame at Steven's words.

\- everyone you love and who loves you will give you the strength and courage to survive, when it is your turn to be an inspiration to others, you will have the power to make them smile ... when you grow up you will both be a great hero ... -

Steven gave him a big smile, he felt KO's face hide in his chest and his hands tighten his shirt, he hugged him and stroked his brown hair.

\- Thanks Steven ... -

. 

KO showed Steven various items from the store, swords, power balls, towels, posions, weapons, magic drinks, the hidden labyrinth in the cellar and as proof of the store's hospitality, KO showed him the famous lightning nachos, Steven wasn't really sure but he was willing to give it a try anyway, but unexpectedly Lion ate them all in one bite, the older one saw the feline get electrocuted but it didn't turn into dangerous majors.

It seemed like Lion liked them so much that he tried to eat KO's nachos, instead he and Steven shared smiles and more lightning nachos. Oh, and the big cat made a new friend, Baby Teeth, the little dinosaur from the warehouse, the two of them played through the aisles of the store.

. 

\- I have the honor to present my greatest pride, my collection of pow cards! -

KO takes a large folder out of his backpack, runs to Steven and Lion, both showing interest.

\- Pow cards? What is that? -

\- Pow cards are collectible cards all heroes and villains have one! - KO turns the pages with thousands of cards - each one details the respective power levels and stats - the youngest gets his own card - look! This is mine! You see? Here is my name and my level of power! -

Steven takes the card with caution, especially because Lion could do something crazy like eating it - are you level 3? Incredible! -

-I know! I got my own pow card a few days after starting working here, when I got it in my hands I couldn't believe what she saw, it said my power was 100! -

\- A power of 100!?, Is that possible? -

Immediately the mood of KO was changed by one of frustration - in the end it turned out that my pow card had a fault, from 100 it dropped to 0.1 -

\- ....... -

\- believing that I was a level 100 hero I felt important and powerful ... but everything changed when Lord Boxman brought one of his robots with negative power level 100 and smashed my face against the ground, the whole square was joined to defeat him but in the end they were disappointed, me too because I seemed a liar and I thought I was really someone extremely strong .... -

\- ....... -

\- my friends and my mommy say that power levels don't matter but I think they do, they all change drastically when someone surpasses level 10 ... in the end things didn't change much with my pow card, it turned out that I had a flaw and that's why I couldn't level up, thanks to my friend Dendy it was repaired and now it's fine ... since then I work really hard to increase my power level -

Steven did not lose any detail to what KO shared with him, he looked at the little hero card and the great variety of pow cards in the folder, he recognized some inhabitants of the Plaza, some had one, two and three of power, even existed At level 0, the only outstanding ones were the pow cards of Mr. Gar, KO's mom, Carol, Enid, and some negative level villains like Vormulax, Lord Boxman, Professor Venomous, Billiam Milliam and that strange nicknamed "Shadowy Figure".

Steven took the Professor's pow card and Shadowy Figure's, took a closer look at them, was it possible?

\- Is something wrong Steven? -

\- KO, ..... don't you think these two look the same? - he asked uncertainly. Instead the minor laughs.

\- of course not, the two are different people, he _(points to PV)_ , works now with Boxman and he _(points to SF)_ is the culprit of creating TKO, Mr. Gar and I have searched for their lair but we have not succeeded, when they said there was someone behind the stores, I honestly thought it was Shadowy Figure, but instead it turned out to be you, tell me something Steven, did you ... did you get to see it while you were sleeping in the van? -

\- yes -

Steven remembers that the first nights he arrived had been quiet, but later in the middle of the night, he woke up restless, he believed that at first it was due to concern about his situation or that he had not eaten well, he did not wake up Lion so as not to worry him , he got up still tired and put his hand to his face to release tension, but immediately he felt the dream leave his body when he saw the shadow of someone on the edge of one of the back windows before disappearing, Steven feels his body freeze, someone had definitely been looking at him.

With his body shaking, he poked his face between the seats and quickly saw if the doors and windows were secured, when he looked at the windshield there he was a few meters from the van showing a row of sharp teeth and his face covered with a hood . Steven was petrified before the mysterious and chilling subject, who was he? What did he want? As a means of defense for him, his body turned pink and he created his bubble around the van.

Since that night was not the last time he saw him .....

\- Steven, that was really scary and dangerous! -

Says KO shaking a bit and holding to Lion.

\- eh? But if I haven't told you anything yet -

\- It is not necessary, your memories materialize - KO points to the cloud of memories that was next to Steven, the older one was startled. He would definitely have to learn how to live in that world.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is not my first language, I sincerely apologize for English is not my first language, I sincerely apologize for my bad spelling and grammar.

\- And if you swipe down, the pow card updates and shows you the XP you need to reach the next level, as well as stats like stamina, agility, intelligence, will, and fear resistance -

\- I can't believe your fear resistance level is 15, that's something to be proud of -

\- And I am! I also have a high score in will and resistance, but in intelligence ... -

KO laughs a little nervous. 

\- do not be discouraged KO, you are smarter than you think -

KO looked flushed at the ground.

Steven kept looking at the pow cards in the folder until he saw one that completely surprised him.

\- Garnet!? Do you have a Garnet pow card? How is that possible? Do you know her ?! -

\- Yes! It's a pretty funny story, it all started when an evil man named Strike took over a world full of heroes from all over, he took me out of my universe to take my powers and turn me into stone, that's when I met them, to Ben and Garnet, the three of us joined forces and on the way we met Raven who also joined, the four of us arrived at Strike's lair, we defeated him, we regained our powers, we returned the world to normal and we became friends, Ben and Raven left but before saying goodbye Garnet created a pow card of her and gave it to me, since then I have it and I hope to see her again one day... -

Steven stared in disbelief at the memory of KO, then rewound in his mind if Garnet had told him about his adventure, it seemed so, back then he was still a distracted and playful child who cared to have fun while trying to leave his worries as his decisions his mom and the diamonds aside.

\- When you told me your name, I knew that I had heard it somewhere, because you come from the same dimension as her! And your memories confirmed it! How is she? Is she still as cool as ever? -

Steven drew a sarcastic and ironic smile - yes, she ... is still the same -

KO noticed that there was "resentment" in Steven's gaze. I was going to ask what was wrong with him but he did not want to get into a personal or family matter, however he still wanted to help Steven as he has done, but if respecting Steven's privacy was paramount then he would do it but he would be by his side no matter what .

He quickly decided to change the conversation - Steven, if Garnet has two gems and you have one, why does she have more than you? -

\- That's because she's a fusion - Steven says changing the face of his gaze.

\- A fusion!? -

\- Yes, Garnet is made up of two smaller gems - Steven takes his cell phone out of his jacket, opens the gallery and shows KO a photo of two smiling gems - they are Ruby and Sapphire, together they make up who you and I know as Garnet .... -

The young gives his phone to KO, he looks carefully at the gems being happy and with his precious gems in each hand. - amazing!, how do they do that? -

\- with a fusion dance, so that two gems can come together and become one, they need to be in good mental, physical and emotional synchrony -

Steven plays a video of Pearl and Amethyst dancing - they two of them had trouble collaborating but now they can form Opal without any problem - the new giant woman appears in the video. 

KO's eyes express total excitement - amazing! , do your friends always do that? -

\- only when the situation requires it, and as you can see, the new forms have extra body parts like arms and eyes, the power increases and creates new weapons -

With every word that Steven said, KO's eyes showed a sparkle of admiration and ecstasy, he paid full attention to what he heard such as the names of the gem friends, their respective weapons, he saw the fusions of Sugalite, Sardonyx, Alexandrite, Mega- Pearl and Obsidian, the stories of each were wonderful. 

As for his favorite fusions were Steven's, like Sunstone, Rainbow Quartz 2.0, Smoky Quartz, and Steg _(who could compete against Rad in strength and bicep size)_.

\- I wish I could meet all of them! -

\- Maybe one day you will do it KO - says Steven with a little smile.

When KO passed the images and videos, one caught his attention, there was a girl next to Steven, the two seem to be very young, almost his age, the two dance a little merging instantly and reveal a great barefoot girl and long black hair showing a dazzling smile.

\- Who is she? What's her name? -

\- She is ... Stevonnie ...-

\- And the girl who was with you? -

\- Her name is Connie and she is ... a friend ... - He says the last thing with a whisper and looking at the ground with disappointment.

KO swipe the pictures, there were a lot with that girl named Connie, was she someone important to Steven?

\- _"of course it is, loser, she seems to be his ex-girlfriend or something"_ -

KO covered his mouth to keep from releasing a big "What!?" At the words of T.K.O in his mind, he looked at the thousands of photos that the two of them shared showing how they were growing together, they seemed very close.

He didn't say anything because Steven was still looking at the folder amused, KO swallowed his nervousness and pretended he was looking at the rest of Steven's gem family, then he found the photo of a man with some overweight, short hair, tanned skin and a beard. He must be his best friend's dad.

\- His name is Greg -

\- He seems like a very nice man, was he the one who taught you to play various instruments? -

\- yes, he practically raised me with music -

\- I wish I had such a great dad ... -

Steven was about to say something until they felt a shaking on the ground. The two get up from the boxes where they were both sitting and run straight outside.

Ahead of them appears a giant Darrell robot showing its most sinister smile.

\- Do you face robots like this every day!? -

\- no, only on special occasions ...!, Argh !!! -

The two of them narrowly managed to dodge an attack from the laser cannon.

\- Do you remind me KO!?, The last time you beat me using the entire Plaza against me! But I have new toys that I am eager to try with you! HAHAHAHAHA! -

\- Today is not a good time to attack the Plaza! Could it be another day for our confrontation !? -

KO received another attack.

\- YOU WILL FIGHT WITH ME DOS YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! -

The Plaza began to be attacked, people were running trying to flee from danger. KO's confidence flanked a bit as his friends were not with him, so he prepared his own attack but immediately felt a hand on his shoulder.

\- count on me KO! -Steven says invoking his shield.

He gave him a look of determination, if the two of them worked together then there was a chance they both would win.

\- let's do it! -

.

The two run towards Big Darrell, KO threw his power fists, Steven took a great leap towards the robot and with force the two attacks hit the villain making him stagger.

Big Darrell attacked Steven with his big hand, the older one created his bubble just in time but it crashed into the ground creating a crater. The big robot wasted no time and put his foot on top of the bubble to make it break.

\- STEVEN, WACHT OUT! - KO shouted scared.

The oldest tried to concentrate to not be defeated but it was impossible, the robot must have weighed a thousand tons and the bubble began to crack.

The next thing that happened, happened in slow motion, Big Darrell managed to break the bubble, without wasting a second, KO moves quickly and takes Steven out of there, the two cross their eyes, scared and believing that he would lose it KO hides his face on Steven's neck and the older hug him to calm him down. Immediately a white light envelops them both. A few meters away they are no longer KO or Steven. He's someone else. 

Big Darrell removes his foot believing that he had crushed one of KO's friends, but his smile fades when he sees that there is nothing.

\- What!?, Where did he go !? -

\- FOR HERE, GREAT NERD! -

Big Darrell turns around and sees someone completely new but familiar at the same time, the mysterious character wore pink leg warmers on both legs, a navy blue shorts, a pink jacket tied at the waist, the abdomen was uncovered and revealed a flipped diamond, a T-shirt White short with a yellow star, a blue vest and a headband. His eyes were a different color and from his expression he was not very happy.

\- Who are you!? Where is the loser KO and his loser friend too !? -

\- You can call me Kaiven !, and the important thing here is that right now I'm going to beat you! -

Big Darrell lunged at the new hero, Kaiven headed towards him with great speed and gave him a powerful blow to the jaw, with both fists on fire sending the robot crashing to the ground. Big Darrell launches a powerful green beam from his eye, but Kaiven creates a large bubble with spikes which blocks the attack and would now directly fall on him.

\- uh oh ... -

Big Darrell spins on the ground and stands up, Kaiven creates a large hole shaking the ground, undoes the bubble, invokes the pink shield and throws it like a frisby which cuts half of the robot's arm.

\- AAAAAAAAAAAH !, YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT! -

Kaiven dodged Big Darrell's big feet with three somersaults.

\- I could beat him with my fists but it would only cause more disaster, I need a weapon ... - A weapon? No problem! -

Kaiven called Lion who came out of the store, Kaiven takes out of the mane a weapon that had been destroyed long ago ......

It was the old Pink Diamond sword restored and new.

\- Woao, this is great! - Kaiven wielded the sword and was engulfed in blue and purple flames, the eyes of fusion became stars.

With a big smile of determination he went towards Big Darrell, hit him and sent him flying a few meters from the ground, with the sword he made many cuts throughout the body, Big Darrell exploded in the sky and with a powerful roar of Lion, all the parties fell at Boxmore.

Kaiven landed with the sword on his shoulder. - WE DID IT, WE DID IT LION, WE DID IT! -

kaiven was proud to have saved the day, he cleaned the parking lot of the robot's remains and put them in the trash cans.

Kaiven enters the store with Lion following him. For the first time he realizes his physique, with curiosity he explores his arms, hair, clothes and waist, to be sure he went to the rest room, there he saw in more detail the reflection of him in a large mirror. He looked at his hands and smiled hugging himself.

. 

\- do you think it's OK? - of course, why not? - I will only do it if it looks good to you - I trust you, you trust me, I don't see the bad side - it's ok, here we go ...-

Kaiven is in front of the power card machine, he inserts a coin, the machine scans it and in a few seconds a card comes out. In it is the image of the hero.

Kaiven makes a big smile and looks at her own card dancing. He immediately disappears to show KO and Steven.

\- I never believed that it would be possible for fusions to have their own power card - Steven says looking at Kaiven's card and with fusion level, which showed his gem being embraced by two burning fists. - 

Do you know something KO? , I did not expect that the two of us would merge so quickly, I mean, our friendship has a short time and it happened suddenly, I think that you and I have very strong feelings towards each other ... it almost seems to be ... -

Steven didn't finish speaking because he turned to KO who hadn't said a word.

\- KO? - Asks the older teenager with concern.

\- Steven, the fusion, you, me, us ... IT WAS WONDERFUL! Is this how fusion feels? Everything you feel and what I feel ... I never thought felt someone's feelings so close, it felt ... good ... and TKO liked it too -

\- _"NO, IT'S NOT TRUE !!!, I HATE TO BE IN THE MIDST OF SO MUCH KINDNESS AND THINGS LOVELY OF FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN YOU TWO!!!"_ -

KO hugged Steven around the waist while the older one puts an arm around the younger one and strokes his head.

\- take it KO, it will look amazing with the rest of your pow card collection -

The youngest takes the card in his hands, gasps in amazement, the two formed a new hero - thank you, thank you, thank you Steven! - he hugged him tighter. - I have an idea! Why don't you also try to have your own card? 

\- My own pow card? I don't know KO, Kaiven has one because I merged with you but I'm from another place -

KO shakes his head - it doesn't matter, anyone who does a heroic act the factory that makes the cards detects you immediately, I'm sure that you too will appear regardless if you are from another dimension -

Steven looks KO not very convinced, he still decided to give it a try. From his pants he takes out a Techno, inserts it into the slot and waits while her eye is scanned, miraculously the image of Steven posing with his shield appears.

\- print it, print it! -

Steven does as the youngest asks him, the pow card comes out of the slot. Steven takes it and the image is the same as the screen of the machine, his name appears and next to it is his power level. The diamond is there instead of showing the head.

\- Your power level is diamond, a diamond! I know heroes who have planet or ring level but without a doubt yours is special Steven! -

KO says very excited. Steven smiles a little at the excitement.

\- We will both work hard to update your information -

\- it will be interesting to see how this will work ....-

A few hours later, Rad and Enid returned almost at the end of the day, they asked KO if there were problems in their absence and the minor replied that he could handle the situation very well.

He didn't wait for the other two to tell him something, he said goodbye to both of them and quickly goes to the animal shelter where Steven is waiting for him to go home on top of Lion.

. 

A full week has passed.

Steven was at his house writing the last touches of a song that would be a surprise to KO. He had the lyrics, he had the rhythm, he had the music, but what he lacked was the voice.

\- argh, why do songs always have to match the voice ?, Lion help me, this is important -

The pink feline was playing with an old shirt, then Steven sighs in frustration. Then he comes up with an idea - maybe I could ...-

. 

KO woke up early, that day he would not have to go to work, because it was the weekend. He immediately got dressed and went to Steven's house across the street.

\- Steven! It occurred to me that I could show you the volcano that is a few meters from the Plaza! Do you want to go? -

Nobody opened the door.

KO knocked on the door for the second time.

Nobody opened.

He saw that the van was there so her friend must be at home. He took the knob and realized that the house was open. He slowly opened it, he looked for the older teenager but he was nowhere to be found.

\- Steven? Are you here? -

KO enters the house, sees Lion and pats him in greeting. - Hey friend, have you seen Steven? -

Lion lets out a little grunt.

Then a noise upstairs alerts the child.

\- Steven!? -

He runs straight up the stairs, the sounds and screams coming from the bathroom, he opened the door and his body collides with someone else's causing them both to fall to the floor.

\- Ouch, my head, Steven? Did something happen? Why ... Steven!? -

In front of KO was the teenager, only ... his body was that of a child.

\- KO!, argh, this is so embarrassing! ..-

As Steven tried to justify himself, KO remembered that the Steven in front of him was the same one he saw in his memories in the shared dream, short, chubby, and his clothes were too big for him.

\- You are so cute ~! -KO says sharpening his voice and clasping their hands.

\- no, I'm not! -Steven says puffing out his cheeks and with his hands trapped under his black shirt.

\- I wish we had met like that! I bet you were less grumpy! -

Steven felt his cheeks burn with fury. Instead KO was having a lot of fun.

\- it's not funny! -

\- sure yes, even TKO is laughing -

\- AAAAAAAARGH! -

Steven lunged at KO to silence him but the younger one moved from his place in one agile movement and slammed his face into the ground.

\- What's up Steven? Do you have very short legs? Hahahahahaha! -

Steven got up still tripping over his huge clothes, when he regained his balance he ran towards KO who smiled and ran away.

\- Come back here! -

The two "children" ran all over the house, they jumped on the sofa, on the table, on the stove, the chairs, Steven used a little of his powers to accelerate and catch KO, he had grabbed him by the neck of his white shirt but the two fell into Lion's mane and at the same time Steven activated it.

They had both disappeared.

. 

Steven feels the soft texture of the grass that looks similar to the mane of his big pink cat, desperately looking for KO, even if the youngest did not even know about that place, much less that there was no oxygen. 

He directed his sight to both and only points within the dimensional pocket, fortunately there was KO, and he was fine, he was seeing the things that had belonged to his mother. And especially the portrait.

He moved through the grass quickly and climbed the small slope, took KO by the arm making him jump, without waiting for an action from the minor he dragged him with him and the two fell to the ground and at the same time crossed to the other side .

The two children inhale and exhale giving away their breath.

\- Woao! It's a whole world inside Lion's mane! Although it's a bit strange due to the lack of air, in the few seconds I was there I thought I couldn't hold my breath anymore -

Steven lets out a tired sigh - this is Lion's dimensional pocket - he caresses the cat's head - he is also connected with someone else, I can go anywhere else if I want -

\- Do you mean that someone else is pink and has a magical mane? And can you appear like that out of nowhere? -

\- yes, that's because .... Lion and a friend went through the same thing to obtain these powers and abilities .... -

\- what happened? -

\- ...... They both died ......-

KO covered her mouth with her hands, an expression of surprise and horror appeared on her face. Then with affection he touched the face of Lion who allowed himself to be caressed, after having digested the information he looked at Steven again.

\- how? -

Steven stroked her neck to release tension, the story would be a bit long. . .

.

After a brief silence and having clarified the doubts, the two were still sitting on the ground next to Lion.

\- I still don't understand how and why you are my size -

\- Uhmm-I-I-I- I- well-well ... I ... tried to change my ... voice ...

\- Your voice? Why? -

\- because ... I wrote you a song ... -

\- seriously!? - KO asks with his eyes shining.

\- But it's not finished yet! I have everything ready, but I lack the voice, I thought I could change shape to a more " _adult_ " version of me, but I ended up with my 13-year-old body - Steven covered his face ashamed.

\- _Aw ~ Steven!_ You didn't have to do it! The whole time I'm with you is like a gift - KO approached Steven to hug him - your emotions are linked to your gem right? So why don't you try it? -

\- I become an "older" person if I have negative thoughts, and the last time I did that I almost died when I became an old man -

KO feels the sweat run down her forehead, he had definitely seen that memory. - Okay, bad idea .... then ...... why not .... something intermediate? -

\- intermediate? -

\- yes, thoughts that keep your feet on the ground -

Steven brought his hand to his chin, he could control the powers of his gem from a long time ago and he could do it without problem. But in his mental situation ...... 

With a deep sigh he concentrated and slowly felt his body being affected by his gem, mainly his limbs. He feels his arms and legs get longer, his back is wider and his muscles come back again. He had the same appearance when he trained in the forest.

\- So ... how do I look? -

\- Wonderful! Surely Rad and Raymond would be envious of you! -

\- huh? - Steven didn't identify KO's friends very well.

\- you can be totally sure of it -

. 

After Steven recorded the song with his new voice, he and KO agreed that it would be a new surprise for the video channel. For now, they would have their concentration on the other songs.

KO felt that the joy inside him was going to explode. He loved the song very much.

. 

Ok KO, Let's start the show! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how to put images in the text so, here is the address where is the image of the fusion between Steven and KO that I loved the most.
> 
> https://www.deviantart.com/hansungkee/art/Hero-Quartz-Steven-and-K-O-Fusion-858867054


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> English is not my first language, I sincerely apologize for my bad spelling and grammar. 
> 
> Link to the YouTube page of the person who sings most of the heavy metal songs.
> 
> https://m.youtube.com/pellek/videos?disable_polymer=true&itct=CBEQ8JMBGAEiEwjXxPOS86vuAhVfzBYJHRxdCAQ%3D

_"Love like you"_

_"Stronger than you"_

_"Dos it for her"_

_"Tower of mistakes"_

_"Haven't You Noticed (I'm a Star)"_

. 

When Steven had told KO that one of the songs had been sung by Garnet, he almost fainted. The minor couldn't help it and he joined in to do a duet even though his voice was very out of tune.

Steven was happy that a part of his traumatic past was something shared, now he was not alone with all his memories and bad experiences in their entirety.

And also with a lot of patience he helped KO to perfect his voice, especially since he almost broke the windows of the house.

The other positive side was that KO did not ask about the meaning of the other song, but for Steven he was smarter than he seemed and it was true, Steven was grateful that KO found out about things without him having to say them. 

. 

_If I could begin to be_

_half of what you think of me._

_I could do about anything_

_I could even learn how to love_

Like you ~

KO was humming that song that he had heard the first day he met his best friend. With a sigh he wiped the sweat from his forehead, he had cleaned the floor hard for three hours. With a smile he turned up the volume on the music and went back to doing his cleaning duties in the bodega.

However, KO was being watched by two pairs of eyes, they were obviously Rad and Enid. The two of them had noticed their little friend's change in mood, at first they thought it was TKO, or maybe the fact that his mom and boss were dating, or that the Boxmore robots were getting more and more annoying than before. KO was acting really weird. Well, both were not going to get anything with their own conclusions, they would ask the child directly. Enid dared to take the first step.

\- hey brush-head, lately you're happier than before -

\- Yes, is something wrong with you, KO? - Rad asks.

KO removes the headphones from his ears and looks at his friends with that trademark smile of his.

\- of course not, why do you ask? -

\- is that you are more smiling -

\- You smile every time you look at your cell phone -

\- You leave the store quickly during breaks and at the end of the day -

\- You don't spend so much time with us ...-

\- and not to mention that you no longer ask us to do dances for your video channel - the alien lets out tears and groans of pain at the indifference of his little friend.

Enid covers Rad's mouth - what we're trying to tell you is that we care about you KO -

\- Did we tell you something that hurt you? -

\- If it's because we haven't spent time with you please forgive us, we've been very busy lately - KO looks at them with a shy smile.

\- I'm really sorry friends, it was not my intention to make you feel that way, but everything is fine with me -

\- _"You better come up with something more convincing if you still want to keep your relationship a secret with the boy from another dimension, silly little baby"_ -

T.K.O says with a growl. KO lets out a sigh, for now he was not going to reveal his friendship with Steven, especially because the older one did not want to attract attention and the younger one would respect that. 

listen friends, I appreciate your concern but it is not necessary, it is just that lately I have also been very busy in taking advantage of my time to be a better person and a good hero, if I need your help I will not hesitate to come to you -

Rad and Enid watched as KO walked away to clean the bathrooms now. The two exchanged their glances.

\- I don't know what you think Enid, but KO is hiding something -

\- I know Rad, and like you, I'm worried about him -

They would both definitely pay more attention to KO and do whatever it takes to protect him.

.

Steven was in his van, he had left Lion at home, the big cat spent all night playing with the little dinosaurs of the place. He now he was tired and sleeping soundly.

The van was parked right where he and Lion had arrived. Also with concern he made sure to stay out of range of Boxmore's attacks. By now, Steven had finished treating all the small animals in the shelter, the Doctor was so satisfied with his work that she had given him the rest of the day off.

He immediately felt a little shake in the van, he opened the rear doors and expected it to be an earthquake or a tremor but there was nothing.

He then he heard noises below, something or someone was touching the parts. He didn't want a thief to steal the parts of the van.

\- Hey! I know you're there, come out before I do something about it -

Steven waits a few seconds, brown hair slowly appears, large eyes with glasses on top and a strange intonation of skin color.

Was a girl. She seemed to be KO's age.

\- Um, hi ... - Steven says.

The strange girl blinks, she does not say a word -....... -

Steven begins to get a little nervous at the awkward silence.

\- ....... -

-... my apologies, I thought that this means of transport belonged to a friend that I know -

\- oh, okay, it doesn't matter, well, what's your name? - He asks with a smile.

\- my name is Dendy - she adjusts her glasses.

\- _"So she must be the friend that KO talks to me sometimes, I think he had said she was a Kappa"_ \- he thinks remembering the conversations of his little friend.

\- I would like to know your name please, mysterious stranger -

- _"mmm, it seems that KO has not told her about me, that well, but it is better to introduce myself"_ \- he thinks with a feeling of relief - my name is Steven, Steven Universe! - He shows a big smile.

\- interesting ... - Dendy's backpack seems to activate itself and scans Steven, the little girl makes some notes - I have never heard your identification name, and I don't even have you registered in my database, this is strange ... - Dendy moves her eyes towards Steven with doubt - also, this vehicle has a simple structure mechanism, it is not like any other van that I have seen in my life ... -

Steven feels the sweat run down his forehead, with a nervous smile he tries to speak - that's because I'm from another place, where I come from, there aren't many things like here - in a way he hadn't lied. So he was telling the truth.

Dendy makes a face and writes something on her hologram screens. In a way, the way she spoke and expressed reminded him of Peridot.

\- mmm, that would make sense, well, if it doesn't bother you, I'll enter your data into my computer, just as a precaution, would you mind showing me your pow card? -

Steven hands her his card, Dendy examines it carefully, glances at Steven for a few seconds and looks at the information on the pow card - no doubt I've come across someone out of the ordinary -

\- What can I say? There are thousands of surprises around here - Steven says with a downcast smile.

Dendy sits on the edge of the van - ...... it is evident that something is disturbing your emotional health and your face creates features that are very easy to see -

Steven widened his eyes in surprise. - are you a therapist or a psychologist? -

\- no, however my reasoning ability is far above the intelligence of other inhabitants and living beings -

\- is what KO has told me about you .....-

\- ....... do you know KO? ........-

\- yes, he tells me about the wonders you do with your computer, your laboratory, your ability to create things, your programming ability, you are really amazing Dendy -

Except for KO, no one else had praised Dendy. The little kappa felt a little sense of appreciation and admiration for her work in a genuine way.

\- Thank you for your words of appreciation Steven - she smiles with gratitude.

Dendy shows him the skills he can do, Steven has no trouble understanding because he also learned some advanced technology with Pearl and Peridot.

\- hey Dendy ... -

\- Yes, Steven? -

\- Do you know how TKO was born? -

Little Kappa never imagined that he would ask her that kind of question - do you know him?

Steven made a face expressing sadness - yes, at first he encouraged me to get angry but in the end ... it was me who was stupid with him ... -

\- What do you mean? Did you meet him in person? Did KO lose control again? -

\- No, it happened in a very unique way ... -

Steven spent half an hour explaining how he had made contact with TKO, Dendy listened carefully without missing any details.

\- interesting, I had never known the power of connecting with others through dreams, and as for your question, I remember that time when I helped KO to infiltrate the minds of his friends to overcome the fears of Mr. 

Gar, my hypothesis is that TKO was always with KO but something happened to make it come to life, however in the game the two existed without the need to use a single body 

\- So, do you think that video game machine can be modified to separate TKO and KO? -

\- maybe, it would take a concentrated calibration, a good tuning to the system and other things ... tell me Steven, where do we want to go with this? -

\- KO is my friend, and although for others it is strange or complicated, TKO also worries me ... - Steven looks at the sad floor - I know what he has done and I do not try to justify his actions, it is just that when I met him we didn't had a good meeting and then I saw who he really was, a scared kid like KO ...., the two are so different and I think they both deserve to be themselves without being trapped in each other's mind -

Dendy blinked and materialized his computer screen making a few notes - if my calculations are correct, there is an 80.3% that the video game machine can be altered to design and reconstruct a living organism divider, do you understand what I mean? -

\- it means that there is a high percentage to separate them! I understood everything perfectly! -

\- Very well, I will design the plans for the new machine, until then there is no word to say to KO -

\- my mouth will be totally closed -

Dendy and Steven smile. Minutes later the little kappa says goodbye to the teenager. The boy was entertained in playing the guitar until he hears the familiar cry of a certain hero.

\- **S-TE-VEN!** -

The hero jumps into the van and lands in the teenager's arms.

\- hello Ko! -

The little rapprochement between the two of them lasts little until they part.

\- another success for the video channel, the number of subscribers totally increased! -

Ko shows the number of plays and views on new videos. Steven smiles a little. - I'm impressed -

\- Me too! And don't worry, your identity is still a secret, only TKO and I know of your presence here -

\- Haven't you even told your friends? -

\- No, I prefer this to continue like this, lately they are watching me more than usual -

\- well, I guess we can do a lot of things together -

\- Seriously? Like which ones? - Ko asks with a big smile.

Steven managed a smile.

TKO was in the kitchen eating cereal with orange juice and chocolate cupcakes with ice cream, he was bored, he had nothing to do besides teasing KO and trying to take over his body to make a lot of mess and mischief. Don't be hard on him, TKO just wanted to do something to entertain himself. 

He sighed for the fifth time, he had already played several video games, hit his punching bag all morning and read some books. TKO would like to be able to do something besides being there at his house, alone.

When he was going to turn on the TV where he saw that he was doing KO, a couple of voices were heard outside the house, one was from his silly good counterpart that was obvious and the other was from ...

The door to the house is thrown open showing KO grinning wide.

\- TKO, LOOK WHO IS BACK! -

At the entrance of the house appeared ...- Steven !? -

\- Hi TKO, how are you? - Asks the teenager smiling quietly.

The little boy with the big tousled mane was a bit perplexed. The two guests enter the living room of the house. Steven quickly glanced around the place, TKO had a taste for punk, goth, lot of purple and violent music.

\- Isn't it great? Now not only will I be able to visit you, Steven will do it too! -

The teenager releases a small laugh - I just concentrated on showing up here instead of that limbo where we appeared when we met -

\- Wow, this is a big surprise, I'm amazed - says TKO in a bad mood rolling his eyes.

\- Really!? I'm glad you liked it! - KO says without malice.

\- Sarcasm is a second language for you, right? - TKO asks burlesque. 

\- what is sarcasm? - KO had no idea of that definition.

Steven feels the sweat run down his forehead, TKO made no effort to hide his displeasure at KO's innocence and his presence, he tries to have logic on his side, TKO was only tolerable after the blows and a deadly battle, he he wasn't bad, he was just a misunderstood little grunt. But here was Steven Universe !, the defender of the earth, Savior of the galaxy and friend of any kind of corrupt or bad gem, well, except for Eyeball and the rest of the rubies, Aquamarine, was Jasper also included? How difficult could it be?

\- In case you are not aware, I am really busy, so you can go away -

\- Busy? What are you busy with? -

\- to see a non-existent point on the wall -

\- that's not funny! -

\- it is for people who think with their heads -

Okay, if TKO wanted to have fun, then he was going to have fun.

\- TKO ..... - Steven calls with conviction.

\- what? - He responds with bad humor.

\- I CHALLENGE YOU TO A MUSIC BATTLE! -Steven pointed his finger at him and formed stars in his eyes.

A deep silence settled in the environment until the two children spoke at the same time

-WHAT!? -

\- I could see your interest in a specific musical genre, these posters, your way of dressing, the guitar on the floor - Steven delicately lifted the instrument from the floor - and also the drums in the other room, my dad is responsible to teach me a lot about the subject, so I'm sure to play any genre including hard rock and metal, ... so what do you say? We have a music duel? -

Steven handed TKO his guitar, the grumpy little cave boy looked at his instrument, then looked at the teenager who was waiting for an answer, a second later TKO was smiling showing all his sharp teeth but that didn't seem scary to Steven, it seemed cute in a way.

\- I ACCEPT! -

.

\- Do you remember how to play the drums Ko? -

The boy in the pink jacket asks uncertainly. - Don't worry Steven, I learned from watching you and from the guys who appear in Internet videos! -

The three of them were outside the house, placing the drums on a platform and the guitar amps near Steven and TKO to connect their respective instruments.

\- Make sure you don't screw it up, you clumsy little one - says TKO tuning his guitar.

\- relax TKO, this instrument will be totally dominated by me - says KO with fire in his eyes, literally. The two boys moved away a bit, the flames almost burned them both.

Steven picked up his own guitar _(KO imagined and exactly copied the design of his instrument at home)_ , slipped the strap over his shoulder, and took the nib to slowly run it through the strings.

Immediately a large guitar probe hits him violently. Steven gapes at TKO who was looking at him with amusement and malice. - Are you ready, S-te-ven? -

Steven smiled and did the same, of course the minor didn't bother, he was too ecstatic to be upset. - Anytime!, Ko? -

\- Ready Steven! - the youngest plays the drums and cymbals excitedly.

TKO prepares his instrument and begins to play.

. 

_"I wanna rock"_

_"We Will rock you"_

_"The story ain't over"_

_"You give love a bad name"_

_"Beat it"_

_"Rolling in the deep"_

_"Don't stop me now"_

_"Drag me down"_

_"Counting stars"_

. 

And my favorite song... 

_Sing with me, sing for the year_

_Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears_

_Sing with me, if it's just for today_

_Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away_

_Dream on, dream on, dream on_

_Dream until your dream come true_

TKO played his guitar with unbridled passion, he was on his knees playing and moving his hair.

Steven felt his face wet with sweat, no one had stopped, TKO was not willing to give up because neither was he.

_Yeah_

_Dream on, dream on, dream on_

TKO noticed Steven's enthusiasm, the two of them approached each other while still playing their guitars and singing loudly.

_Dream on, dream on, dream on_

_Dream on, ooooh ~_

KO who had played the drums from the beginning, he was perplexed by the interaction of TKO and Steven, because the two were carried away by the music and something unexpected happened, On the last note of the song Steven and TKO rose into the air sharing smiles, the two brought their foreheads together and disappeared in a dazzling glow, immediately Steven and TKO weren't there, it was someone else singing the last verse with a guitar with two masts.

_Sing with me, sing for the year_

_Sing for the laughter and sing for the tears_

_Sing with me, if it's just for today_

_Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away_

_Sing with me, sing for the year_

_Sing for the laughter and sing for the tears_

_Sing with me, if it's just for today_

_Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away_

_Will take you away_

The mysterious stranger landed, KO was in complete shock, he never thought Steven and TKO would fuse!

\- Whooo, that's what I call rockin 'babe! -

The fusion struck a powerful chord making the entire area rumble, he immediately turned to KO.

\- How did your eye look!?, I'm an unstoppable Rockstar! -

KO didn't say a word. -....-

\- We have to play another song! Let's do a tour in the Plaza! Everyone will be dying to see me -

-..... -

\- We will sell the tickets to millions and millions of Technoes, ah, but I will need more people to form a band, I will be legendary! -

-...... -

Fusion walk up to KO upset and fed up with being ignored.

\- Hey! I'm talking to you! I can't do a concert if you're distracted! -

KO took on the face of the fusion - Steven, TKO, you guys are together! You fusioned! - he exclaimed.

The fusion moves away from KO, slowly looks at his clothes, touches his own face, his hair, the minor invoked a mirror so that the other could see his reflection.

\- You two look amazing! What's your name? When Steven and we fusioned we called each other Kaiven, so what would your name be? -

The fusion thought a bit - ..T. Kaiven ... -

\- It is quite logical for me, but it does not matter, I am very impressed and I think a little jealous, how do you feel, T. Kaiven? -

The fusion did not take his gaze from the mirror, he felt like someone new and distant at the same time, for a moment he did not exist but now, Steven and TKO had a mutual feeling for both to merge and he was born,

it was a strange sensation hovering inside him.

\- I don't know ... But I like it ...- he says with a genuine smile.

Immediately he disappeared and Steven and TKO reappeared again.

\- you're back !, T. Kaiven is awesome, What happened between you two to fuse?- KO asked.

Steven sneaked a peek at KO's alter-ego, he was looking at the ground and still clutching his guitar, he noticed the light sighs that came out in silence. The teenager hoped he hadn't made the fusion upset TKO.

\- It was totally unforeseen, but that doesn't matter, fusion is very important to me, I only allow it to happen when I'm with the people that matter to me and I let myself go ... -

TKO looked puzzled at Steven - yes, I care about you too TKO, and I see you as a friend, if you agree -

The minor turned his face quickly and looked at the ground with a small blush on his pale cheeks. - I ... I felt at peace ... -

KO takes a hand to his mouth to stop the giggles trying to get out, he had never seen that phase in him. This was new and also good for TKO, Steven was a good influence on him.

KO watched Steven give TKO advice on holding the guitar and practicing some notes, his alter-ego accepted the help and paid attention to the words of the older teenager, as for Steven, he loved to pass on all the knowledge that his dad taught him when he was little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Image link of the fusion between Steven and TKO
> 
> https://day-colors.tumblr.com/post/172670151529/there-was-this-one-cn-promo-where-it-had-amethyst/amp


End file.
